Voice enhancing for advance intelligent network services

ABSTRACT

A service includes verbally editing at least one parameter of a subscriber&#39;s advanced intelligent network (AIN) service using speech recognition functionality of an intelligent peripheral. A call is received from the subscriber at a switch, including a dialed number for editing the AIN service. A connection is established with the intelligent peripheral in response to the dialed number. Call service data, including the parameter, is retrieved from a database. The intelligent peripheral plays a voice announcement identifying the parameter to the subscriber, receives a voice instruction from the subscriber in response to the voice announcement and translates the voice instruction into digital command data relating to a change to the parameter. The digital command data and the change to the parameter are stored in the database for near real-time implementation. The intelligent peripheral and the database are likewise accessible by the subscriber through a packet switched data network.

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/716,276, filed Nov. 21, 2000, entitled “Systemand Method for Implementing and Accessing Call Forwarding Services” inthe names of Gordon L. BLUMENSCHEIN et al., and a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/983,303, filed Oct. 24, 2001,entitled “System and Method for Restricting and Monitoring TelephoneCalls” in the names of Nancy A. BOOK et al., the disclosures of whichare expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications.More particularly, the present invention relates to advanced intelligentnetwork (AIN) call services enhanced for voice interaction withsubscribers and callers.

[0004] 2. Acronyms

[0005] The written description provided herein contains acronyms whichrefer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques,as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some ofthese acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictlystandardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein,the acronyms are defined as follows:

[0006] Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)

[0007] Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR)

[0008] Authentication/Subscription Information (ASI)

[0009] Caller Identification (Caller ID)

[0010] Central Office (CO)

[0011] Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

[0012] Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)

[0013] Electronic Key Telephone System (EKTS)

[0014] Generic Data Interface (GDI)

[0015] Graphical User Interface (GUI)

[0016] HyperText Mark-Up Language (HTML)

[0017] HyperText Transfer Language Protocol (HTTP)

[0018] Incoming Call Manager (ICM)

[0019] Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

[0020] Internet Caller Identification (ICID)

[0021] Internet Call Waiting (ICW)

[0022] Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

[0023] Line Information Database (LIDB)

[0024] Local Access and Transport Area (LATA)

[0025] local exchange carrier (LEC)

[0026] Local Number Portability (LNP)

[0027] Numbering Plan Area (NPA)

[0028] Off-Hook Delay (OHD)

[0029] Outgoing Call Control (OCC)

[0030] Personal Computer (PC)

[0031] Personal Call Manager/Personal Communications Manager (PCM)

[0032] Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

[0033] Personal Identification Number (PIN)

[0034] Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)

[0035] Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

[0036] Registration Server (RS)

[0037] Service Control Point (SCP)

[0038] Service Management System (SMS)

[0039] Service Node/Intelligent Peripheral (SN/IP)

[0040] Service Switching Point (SSP)

[0041] Signaling System 7 (SS7)

[0042] Signaling Transfer Point (STP)

[0043] Subscriber Internet Provider (SIP)

[0044] Time of Day/Day of Week (TOD/DOW)

[0045] Terminating Attempt Trigger (TAT)

[0046] Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP)

[0047] Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

[0048] Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

[0049] World Wide Web (WWW)

[0050] 3. Background Information

[0051] Currently, subscribers to call control services within the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) are able to initiate and modify theirservices by calling a customer service representative or by interactingwith an interactive voice response (IVR) system using a standard dualtone multi-frequency (DTMF) telephone device. These methods practicallylimit the number and types of services that can be provided to andmodified by the subscribers because all information pertaining to theservices is presented audibly. In addition, the potential market forsubscribers to call control services is not fully exploited because ofcustomer reluctance to use IVR systems.

[0052] Furthermore, for many call control services, subscribers mustsubmit requests to the customer service arm of their provider toinitiate new services or update existing ones. The requests areimplemented according to the provider's time line and discretion. It isdifficult for the users to gauge when the service alteration will takeeffect.

[0053] There have been attempts to remedy the problems associated withIVR access to PSTN services. These attempts incorporate use of packetswitched data networks, such as the Internet, to avoid conventional IVRsystems and to streamline the initiation and modification functions. Thecurrent Internet based systems have several drawbacks, however,including the inability to ensure near real-time update of services andincompatibility with existing IVR implementations. Also, because thecurrent Internet based systems operate exclusively from the conventionalIVR systems, i.e., the two systems cannot coexist, customers must selecteither the Internet interface or the IVR interface. Consequently, acustomer who has selected the Internet interface, and who is without apersonal computer (PC) and/or Internet access, is not able to makedesired changes to his or her services through an IVR. The inability toimplement desired changes is especially troublesome considering thatusers are often interested in altering some call services (e.g., callscreening, call forwarding, paging, and caller ID) when they are awayfrom their home or business telephone and PC.

[0054] An example of call control services provided over a packetswitched data network is described in CHANG et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,958,016, which teaches enabling advanced intelligence network (AIN)services over the World Wide Web (WWW or “the web”) through aprovisioning system called the service management system (SMS). Theservice management system as disclosed in CHANG et al., however, doesnot ensure near real-time data update and is not compatible withexisting IVR implementations. Therefore, the services presented via theweb are limited in functionality to the extent near real-time dataupdates are not guaranteed. For example, if a subscriber modifies anincoming call service, which blocks calls from selected phone numbers orclasses of phone numbers, to add an allowed incoming phone number, thesubscriber will not begin immediately to receive calls from the newlyblocked phone number. Rather, the subscriber must wait an unspecifiedperiod of time for the service to be updated via the SMS. Also, asdiscussed above, the web interface and the IVR interface are mutuallyexclusive.

[0055] One conventional call control service is call blocking, in whichincoming or outgoing calls are blocked based on selected time periods oron the calling telephone number. For example, if a family wishes not tobe disturbed at dinner time, the subscriber initiates an incoming callblocking service, e.g., depressing a predetermined sequence of keys of aDTMF telephone, to avoid receiving all incoming calls from 5:30 p.m. to7:00 p.m. Similarly, a business that conducts a daily staff meeting from8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. may redirect all incoming calls to an answeringservice. Likewise, conventional services enable subscribers to blockcalls from selected telephone numbers, e.g., telemarketers, to avoidharassment or interruptions.

[0056] Outgoing calls may similarly be blocked based on selected timeperiods or on called telephone numbers. Conventionally, outgoing callsare blocked during certain hours selected by the subscriber. Forexample, calls from a teenager's telephone can be blocked from 9:00 p.m.to 7:00 a.m. the following day in order to prevent excessive nightly useof the telephone and to encourage the teenager to do homework or go tobed. Further, a typical application of controlling outgoing calls basedon telephone numbers is blocking calls to “900” numbers from thesubscriber's business or home, avoiding potentially inappropriatecommunications and undesirable bills. Also, conventional servicestypically enable blocking of all long distance calls initiated from thesubscriber's telephone.

[0057] One drawback of the current call blocking service is that,because of the lack of precise control, it may prevent completion ofimportant calls to and from the subscriber's telephone number during thecall blocking activation period. For example, a service that merelyblocks all incoming calls to the subscriber's home during a preselectedtime period each day, or originating from a particular area code, mayinadvertently prevent the subscriber from calling his own home.Similarly, the subscriber is unable to complete a telephone call fromhis own home during a restricted period, or to a restricted number,without first deactivating the call blocking feature. The unblockingprocess is time consuming and, in an emergency situation, potentiallydisastrous. This is especially the case where a subscriber mustpainstakingly use an IVR system dependent on touch tones of a DTMFtelephone.

[0058] Another disadvantage is that the subscriber does not know whatand when telephone calls are blocked, unless the subscriber alsosubscribes to (and activates) a separate service, e.g, calleridentification, automated voice messaging, etc., that captures theinformation. Further, conventional call blocking systems do not provideinstantaneous (or nearly instantaneous) call blocking data from the PSTNto the customer.

[0059] In addition, there is no convenient way to interactively accessAIN call services, e.g., changing forwarding phone numbers, accessingrecords of blocked calls, activating schedules, activating restrictednumber lists, and the like, that is consistently and reliably availableto the customer, regardless of the customer's circumstances andlocation. For example, some conventional AIN call services are generallyaccessible to the customer either using a DTMF telephone through an IVRsystem in the PSTN or using a graphical user interface (GUI) over theInternet. The IVR communication is often more convenient due to thecommon accessibility of DTMF telephones. IVR interaction is timeconsuming and often tedious and undesirable from the subscriber's pointof view. This is especially true when the subscriber or caller mustenter long series of numbers using the touch-tone keypad, as may be thecase for extended IVR menuing and security information, such as anaccount number, an access number and a personal identification numbers(PIN). Although automated speech recognition capability in an IVR may bean improvement, such systems are not generally available for AIN callservices and exclude the ability of the subscriber to access and modifythe services over the Internet.

[0060] The Internet communication may be preferable under manycircumstances, because service related data is provided quickly and ineasily comprehensible visual (as opposed to audio) formats. However,Internet communications require an Internet accessible device, such as apersonal computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA). Internetaccessible devices are significantly more expensive than DTMF telephonesand less readily accessible. Also, in order to have both IVR andInternet access to control call forwarding, subscribers would have toopen separate accounts, which is inconvenient and potentially difficultfor the provider to reconcile, especially where the multiple accountsmay send conflicting information regarding calls to be forwarded withrespect to the same telephone number.

[0061] The present invention overcomes the problems associated with theprior art, as described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] The present invention is further described in the detaileddescription that follows, by reference to the noted drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of embodiments of the present invention, in whichlike reference numerals represent similar parts throughout several viewsof the drawings, and in which:

[0063]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary PCMtelecommunications network, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0064]FIG. 2 is a call flow diagram illustrating subscriber requests forinformation from the PCM system, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0065]FIG. 3 is a call flow diagram illustrating subscriber requests forinformation from the PCM system, according to an alternative embodimentof the present invention;

[0066]FIG. 4 illustrates user action in an exemplary web-based PCMsystem, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0067]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary window navigation flow for basicuser actions, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0068]FIG. 6 is an exemplary window to be displayed at the user's PCrequesting identification of a PCM account number, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0069]FIG. 7 is an exemplary PCM home page window to be displayed at theuser's PC identifying customized user options for a selected accountnumber, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0070]FIG. 8 is a call flow diagram illustrating subscriber requests forinformation from the PCM system using voice recognition, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0071]FIG. 9 is a call flow diagram illustrating subscriber requests forinformation from the PCM system using voice recognition, according to analternative embodiment of the present invention;

[0072]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an alternative exemplary PCMtelecommunications network, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0073]FIG. 11 is a flowchart of exemplary SCP service logic for a callmonitoring service, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0074]FIG. 12 is an exemplary call monitoring service call flow diagramshowing routing of a telephone call incoming to a subscriber'stelephone, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0075]FIG. 13 is a flowchart of exemplary SCP service logic for the callmonitoring service, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0076]FIG. 14 is an exemplary call monitoring service call flow diagramshowing routing of a telephone call outgoing from a subscriber'stelephone, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0077]FIG. 15 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses the call monitoring service via the Internet, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0078]FIG. 16 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a scheduler for incoming call blocking duringweekdays, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0079]FIG. 17 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a scheduler for incoming call blocking onweekends, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0080]FIG. 18 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a scheduler for outgoing call blocking duringweekdays, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0081]FIG. 19 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a scheduler for a single weekday, according toan aspect of the present invention;

[0082]FIG. 20 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a screening routing list, according to an aspectof the present invention;

[0083]FIG. 21 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at thesubscriber's PC showing a calling blocking report, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0084]FIG. 22 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses the call monitoring service via an interactive voice responsesystem, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0085]FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an exemplary telecommunicationsnetwork for Flexible Call Forwarding and Intelligent Call Forwarding,according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0086]FIG. 24 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses the Flexible Call Forwarding data via the Internet, accordingto an aspect of the present invention;

[0087]FIG. 25 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing a weekly scheduler, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0088]FIG. 26 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing a change to the weekly scheduler, according to an aspect of thepresent invention;

[0089]FIG. 27 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing an updated weekly scheduler, according to an aspect of thepresent invention;

[0090]FIG. 28 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing a priority screening list, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0091]FIG. 29 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing activation and scheduling data for Flexible Call Forwarding,according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0092]FIG. 30 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing an activation and scheduling summary for Flexible CallForwarding, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0093]FIG. 31 is an exemplary web page of an alternative embodiment tobe displayed at the user's PC showing an activation and schedulingsummary for Flexible Call Forwarding, according to an aspect of thepresent invention;

[0094]FIG. 32 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses Flexible Call Forwarding data via an IVR, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0095]FIG. 33 is an exemplary Flexible Call Forwarding call flow diagramshowing routing of an incoming telephone call, according to an aspect ofthe present invention;

[0096]FIG. 34 is an exemplary flow chart of Flexible Call Forwardingcall routing service logic, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0097]FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing an exemplary Intelligent CallForwarding and ICID telecommunications network, according to an aspectof the present invention;

[0098]FIG. 36 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses the Intelligent Call Forwarding data via the Internet,according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0099]FIG. 37 is an exemplary web page to be displayed at the user's PCshowing a rejection screening list for Intelligent Call Forwarding,according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0100]FIG. 38 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberaccesses Intelligent Call Forwarding data via an IVR, according to anaspect of the present invention;

[0101]FIG. 39 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which IntelligentCall Forwarding and ICID have been deactivated, or no active Internetsession exists, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0102]FIG. 40 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberelects to accept the incoming telephone call, according to an aspect ofthe present invention;

[0103]FIG. 41 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberelects to forward the incoming telephone call to voice mail, accordingto an aspect of the present invention;

[0104]FIG. 42 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberelects to play an announcement to the caller, according to an aspect ofthe present invention;

[0105]FIG. 43 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the subscriberelects to redirect the incoming telephone call to an alternate telephonenumber, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0106]FIG. 44 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the callingparty abandons the telephone call to the subscriber after a responsefrom the web server, according to an aspect of the present invention;

[0107]FIG. 45 is an exemplary call flow diagram in which the callingparty abandons the telephone call to the subscriber before receiving aresponse from the web server, according to an aspect of the presentinvention;

[0108]FIG. 46 is an exemplary call flow diagram of an alternativeembodiment of the invention, in which the subscriber elects to acceptthe incoming telephone call;

[0109]FIG. 47 is a flowchart of exemplary SCP service logic forIntelligent Call Forwarding and ICID, according to an aspect of thepresent invention;

[0110]FIG. 48 is a continuation of the exemplary flowchart diagram ofFIG. 47; and

[0111]FIG. 49 is a continuation of the exemplary flowchart of FIG. 48.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0112] The present invention relates to enhancing AIN call services tofurther resolve the previously identified problems, simply andefficiently. The AIN call services to which the voice enhancementapplies may be implemented individually or through a Personal CallManager (PCM) system, along with other telecommunication services, suchas call monitoring, Flexible Call Forwarding, Internet CallerIdentification (ICID), Incoming Call Manager (ICM), Outgoing CallControl (OCC) and personal directories. The present invention alsorelates to an AIN based service that allows a subscriber connected to acommunications network, including the Internet and other packet switchedtype data networks, as well as through conventional IVR and servicenode/intelligent peripheral (SN/IP) systems, to customize and executethe AIN call services, with near real-time access to the service data.Furthermore, the present invention enables the IVR and SN/IP systems toincorporate voice recognition, further simplifying the subscriber and/orcaller interaction with the AIN call services when not using thecommunications network.

[0113] In view of the above, the present invention through one or moreof its various aspects and/or embodiments is presented to accomplish oneor more objectives and advantages, such as those noted below.

[0114] An aspect of the present invention provides a method for verballyediting at least one parameter of a subscriber's AIN service usingspeech recognition functionality residing on an intelligent peripheral,which includes an interactive voice response platform. The parameter isstored in association with an account of the subscriber. A call,including at least a dialed number associated with editing the AINservice, is received from the subscriber at a switch. The dialed numbermay include a toll free number or a star code. In response to the dialednumber, a connection is established with the intelligent peripheral.Call service data of the subscriber's account, including the parameter,is retrieved from a database and a voice announcement is played to thesubscriber, identifying the parameter. The intelligent peripheralreceives a voice instruction from the subscriber in response to thevoice announcement and translates the voice instruction into digitalcommand data relating to a change to the parameter. The digital commanddata and the change to the parameter is stored, and the change isimplemented in near real-time.

[0115] The connection with the intelligent peripheral that isestablished in response to the dialed number may include suspending thecall at the switch and establishing a temporary connection between theswitch and the intelligent peripheral using a first interface protocol,such as a GR-1129 interface protocol. The call service data is thenretrieved from the database by establishing a connection between theintelligent peripheral and a service control point (SCP) using a secondinterface protocol, such as an SR-3511 interface protocol, andretrieving the call service data from an SCP database. Implementing thechange to the parameter includes transmitting the change from theintelligent peripheral to the SCP through the second interface protocolconnection, storing the change in the SCP database, and implementing thechange in response to a trigger activating the AIN service.Alternatively, the connection with the intelligent peripheral mayinclude routing the call from the switch to the intelligent peripheral.

[0116] The method may further include establishing a connection betweena graphical user interface (GUI) of the subscriber and the intelligentperipheral through a web server in a packet switched data network, andestablishing a connection between the intelligent peripheral and thedatabase. The call service data of the subscriber account, including thechange to the parameter, is retrieved from the database and displayed atthe GUI.

[0117] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method foraccessing a subscriber account in a database relating to an AIN servicein a public switched telephone network (PSTN). The method includesreceiving calling data associated with a call initiated by thesubscriber at a switch, the calling data including at least one dialednumber associated with accessing the AIN service. An SCP is queriedbased on at least the dialed number. A connection is established with aservice node/intelligent peripheral (SN/IP) based on an instructionreceived from the SCP in response to the query, enabling speechrecognition functionality of the SN/IP. A first voice announcement isplayed at the SN/IP requesting identification information relating tothe subscriber account. A first voice response is received from thesubscriber providing the requested identification information. Theinformation is translated into digital identification data and thesubscriber is verified based on the digital identification data. Theverification may include comparing the digital identification data topreviously stored voice data of the subscriber.

[0118] A connection is established between the SN/IP and the AIN servicedatabase and call service data is retrieved from the subscriber account.A second voice announcement is played at the intelligent peripheralbased on the retrieved call service data. A second voice response isreceived from the subscriber relating to a modification to the callservice data and translated into digital instruction data. The callservice data is updated based on the modification and sent to the AINservice database. The updated call service data is stored for immediateimplementation in the AIN service database. Establishing the connectionwith the SN/IP may include suspending the call at the switch and forminga temporary connection between the switch and the SN/IP using a GR-1129interface protocol. Establishing the connection between the SN/IP andthe AIN service database may include forming a connection between theSN/IP and the SCP using an SR-3511 interface protocol.

[0119] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method forexecuting an AIN service using speech recognition functionality residingon an intelligent peripheral and includes storing at least one parameterin a database in association with an AIN service of a subscriberaccount. The parameter relates to a restriction on calls involving thesubscriber's telephone number. A switch receives a call from a callingterminal involving the subscriber's telephone number and queries an SCPbased on the subscriber telephone number. A connection is establishedwith the intelligent peripheral, which includes an interactive voiceresponse platform, based on a response to the query. Call service dataof the subscriber, including the at least one parameter, is retrievedfrom the database. A voice announcement is played to the callingterminal, identifying the parameter and requesting an instruction or averification relating to the call service data. The intelligentperipheral receives a voice input from the calling terminal in responseto the voice announcement, providing the instruction or theverification, and translates the voice input into digital command data.The switch receives an instruction from the intelligent peripheral forprocessing the call based on the digital command data. The call isprocesses according to the instruction.

[0120] Establishing the connection with the intelligent peripheral mayinclude suspending the call at the switch and establishing a temporaryconnection between the switch and the intelligent peripheral using afirst interface protocol, such as the GR-1129 interface protocol.Retrieving the call service data of the subscriber's account from thedatabase may include establishing a connection between the intelligentperipheral and the SCP, which may include the database, using a secondinterface protocol, such as the SR-3511 interface protocol.

[0121] Another aspect of the present invention provides a system forverbally editing at least one parameter of a subscriber's AIN service inthe PSTN using speech commands. The parameter is stored in associationwith a subscriber account. The system includes an intelligent peripheralwith speech recognition functionality, which is accessible by thesubscriber through the PSTN and a packet switched data network. Thesystem also includes a switch, which receives a call from the subscriberand establishes a connection with the intelligent peripheral based on atleast a dialed number of the call, and an AIN service database, whichstores call service data in relation to the subscriber account. The callservice data includes the at least one parameter. The intelligentperipheral retrieves the parameter from the AIN service database, playsa voice announcement to the subscriber relating to the parameter,receives a voice instruction from the subscriber in response to thevoice announcement relating to a change to the parameter, translates thevoice instruction into digital command data, and edits the parameter inaccordance with the digital command data. The AIN service databasestores the edited parameter in association with the account in nearreal-time for immediate implementation in the PSTN.

[0122] The switch may establish the connection with the intelligentperipheral by suspending the call and establishing a temporaryconnection between the switch and the service intelligent peripheralusing a first interface protocol, such as the GR-1129 protocol. Thesystem may further include an SCP, which includes the AIN servicedatabase. The intelligent peripheral then retrieves the parameter fromthe AIN service database by connecting to the SCP using a secondinterface protocol, such as the SR-3511 protocol, and retrieving theparameter from an SCP database. The SCP receives the edited parameterfrom the intelligent peripheral through the second interface protocolconnection, stores the edited parameter in the AIN service database, andimplements the edited parameter in response to a trigger activating theAIN service. Also, the switch may establish the connection with theintelligent peripheral by routing the call to the intelligentperipheral, in response to the dialed number, based on an internalrouting translation or an instruction from the SCP.

[0123] Another aspect of the present invention provides a system foraccessing an account of a subscriber, relating to an AIN service in thePSTN, including a switch, an SCP, an AIN service database and a SN/IP.The switch receives calling data relating to a call from the subscriberat a terminal, the calling data including at least one dialed numberassociated with the AIN service. The SCP receives a query from theswitch based on at least the dialed number. The AIN service databasestores AIN service data, including identification data and call servicedata, in relation to the subscriber account. The SN/IP is connected tothe subscriber terminal by the switch based on an instruction from theSCP in response to the query, enabling speech recognition functionality,so that the SN/IP receives the AIN service data from the AIN servicedatabase. The SN/IP receives a first voice input from the subscriberterminal, in response to a first voice prompt, providing identificationinformation, translates the first voice input into digitalidentification data, and verifies the subscriber based comparing thedigital identification data with the stored identification data. TheSN/IP further receives a second voice input from the subscriberterminal, in response to a second voice prompt, relating to amodification to the AIN service data, translates the second voiceresponse into digital instruction data, updates the AIN service databased on the digital instruction data, and sends the updated AIN servicedata to the AIN service database, which stores the updated AIN servicedata for implementation by the SCP.

[0124] The system may further include a web server in a packet switcheddata network connectable to the subscriber's GUI and the SN/IP. TheSN/IP then receives the digital identification data relating to thesubscriber account from the subscriber through the GUI, retrieves theupdated AIN service data from the subscriber account in the AIN servicedatabase, and displays the retrieved data on the GUI.

[0125] Another aspect of the present invention provides a system forexecuting an AIN service of a subscriber in the PSTN using speechrecognition. The system includes an SCP, a switch and an intelligentperipheral. The SCP includes an AIN service database that stores callservice data, including at least one parameter relating to a restrictionon calls involving a subscriber telephone number, in relation to asubscriber account. The switch receives a call from a calling terminalinvolving the subscriber telephone number and queries the SCP based onat least the subscriber telephone number. The SCP identifies the AINservice and the subscriber account based on the subscriber telephonenumber. The intelligent peripheral, which includes speech recognitionfunctionality, retrieves the call service data from the AIN servicedatabase. The switch establishes a connection with the intelligentperipheral based on an instruction from the SCP in response to thequery. The intelligent peripheral plays a voice announcement to thecalling terminal through the connection with the switch, the voiceannouncement identifying the parameter and requesting an instruction ora verification relating to the call service data. The intelligentperipheral also receives a voice input from the calling terminal inresponse to the voice announcement, providing the instruction or theverification. The intelligent peripheral then translates the voice inputinto digital command data and instructs the switch to process the callbased on the digital command data.

[0126] Another aspect of the present invention provides a computerreadable medium for storing a computer program that enables editing atleast one parameter of an AIN service of a subscriber, using speechrecognition functionality residing on an intelligent peripheral, wherethe at least one parameter is stored in association with a subscriberaccount. The computer readable medium includes a receiving source codesegment that receives a call from the subscriber at a switch, includingat least a dialed number for editing the AIN service; a connectingsource code segment that establishes a connection with the intelligentperipheral in response to the dialed number; and a retrieving sourcecode segment that retrieves call service data from a database, includingthe parameter and relating to the subscriber account. The intelligentperipheral is accessible by the subscriber through a web server in apacket switched data network. The computer readable medium furtherincludes a speech recognizing source code segment that plays a voiceannouncement to the subscriber identifying the parameter, receives avoice instruction from the subscriber in response to the voiceannouncement and translates the voice instruction into digital commanddata relating to a change to the at least one parameter. The computerreadable medium also includes a storing source code segment, whichreceives and stores the digital command data relating to the change tothe parameter in the database, and an implementing source code segment,which implements the change to the parameter in near real-time.

[0127] The connecting source code segment may establish the connectionwith the intelligent peripheral by suspending the call at the switch andestablishing a temporary connection between the switch and theintelligent peripheral using a GR-1129 interface protocol. Theretrieving source code segment may retrieve the call service data of thesubscriber account from the database by establishing a connectionbetween the intelligent peripheral and an SCP in the PSTN using anSR-3511 interface protocol. Alternatively, the connecting source codesegment establishes the connection with the intelligent peripheral byrouting the call from the switch to the intelligent peripheral.

[0128] Another aspect of the present invention provides a computerreadable medium for storing a computer program that accesses an accountof a subscriber for an AIN service in the PSTN, including a receivingsource code segment that receives calling data at a switch, the callingdata being associated with a call initiated by the subscriber andincluding at least one dialed number associated with the AIN service.The computer readable medium also includes a querying source codesegment, which queries a SCP based on at least the dialed number, and aconnecting source code segment, which establishes a connection with aSN/IP based on an instruction received from the SCP in response to thequery. The computer readable medium also includes a first speechrecognizing source code segment that receives a first voice input at theSN/IP from the subscriber terminal in response to a first automatedvoice prompt, the first voice input providing identificationinformation; translates the first voice input into digitalidentification data; and verifies the subscriber based on comparing thedigital identification data with previously stored identification data.Further, the computer readable medium includes a second speechrecognizing source code segment that receives a second voice input atthe SN/IP from the subscriber terminal in response to a second automatedvoice prompt, the second voice input relating to a modification ofpreviously stored AIN service data; translates the second voice responseinto digital instruction data; and updates the AIN service data based onthe digital instruction data. A memory stores the updated AIN servicedata for implementation by the SCP.

[0129] Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a computerreadable medium for storing a computer program that executes asubscriber's AIN service using speech recognition functionality residingon an intelligent peripheral, including a storing source code segmentthat stores at least one parameter in a database in association with anAIN service account of the subscriber; a receiving source code segmentthat receives at a switch a call from a calling terminal involving thesubscriber telephone number and queries an SCP based on at least thesubscriber telephone number; a connecting source code segment thatestablishes a connection with the intelligent peripheral based on aresponse to the query; and a data retrieving source code segment thatretrieves call service data of the subscriber from the database,including the parameter. The parameter relates to a restriction on callsinvolving the subscriber's telephone number. The computer readablemedium further includes a speech recognizing source code segment thatplays a voice announcement to the calling terminal, the voiceannouncement identifying the parameter and requesting an instruction ora verification relating to the call service data; receives a voice inputfrom the calling terminal in response to the voice announcement,providing the instruction or the verification; and translates the voiceinput into digital command data. The computer readable medium alsoincludes a processing source code segment that receives at the switch aninstruction from the intelligent peripheral for processing the callbased on the digital command data and processes the call according tothe instruction.

[0130] The various aspects and embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail below.

[0131] Personal Call Manager

[0132] The Personal Call Manager (PCM) service is an AIN based servicethat allows a subscriber connected to a communications network,including the Internet and other packet switched type data networks, aswell as through IVR systems, including IVR functionality provided bySN/IPs, to customize and execute services associated with telephoniccommunications, with near real-time access to the service data. PCMenhances functionality and compatibility with other AIN based callcontrol services, including, for example, the call monitoring, FlexibleCall Forwarding and Intelligent Call Forwarding services, discussedbelow.

[0133]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary telecommunications network inassociation with PCM. The network includes an outside party telephone20, service switching points (SSPs) 21 and 24, and a subscribertelephone 25. The subscriber telephone 25 is any type of PSTN compatibletelephone, including a plain old telephone service (POTS) telephone, ora telephone in a Centrex system, a PBX system or electronic keytelephone system (EKTS). The exemplary network also includes a signalingtransfer pont (STP) 22, a service control point (SCP) 23 and anintelligent peripheral (AIN/IP) 40, which incorporates an IVR 45.

[0134] By way of example, the SCP 23 is implemented with the BellcoreIntegrated Service Control Point, loaded with ISCP software Version 4.4(or higher), available from Telecordia, Murray Hill, N.J. In analternative embodiment of the invention, the SCP 23 may be a LucentAdvantage SCP, with software release 94, available from LucentTechnologies, Inc.

[0135] Depending on the call origination point, the SSP 21 and the SSP24 may be either the originating or the terminating switch. For example,if a call is placed from the outside party telephone 20 to thesubscriber telephone 25, the SSP 21 is the originating switch and theSSP 24 is the terminating switch. If a call is placed from thesubscriber telephone 25 to the outside party telephone 20, the SSP 24 isthe originating switch and SSP 21 is the terminating switch. However, asa practical matter, the originating switch and the terminating switchmay be the same, or the call may be routed through any number ofintervening switches in the PSTN between the originating and theterminating switches. The SSPs 21 and 24 include, for example, 1AESS or5ESS switches manufactured by Lucent Technologies, Inc.; DMS-100switches manufactured by Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel); AXE-10switches manufactured by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, or EWSDswitches available from Siemens Information and Communication Networks,Inc. The switches may utilize an AIN Release 0.1 protocol. However,embodiments of the present invention may include switches, such as ATMswitches, that are incorporated into any alternative telecommunicationstechnology.

[0136] The call flow logic of the present invention may be upgraded toaccommodate future AIN releases and protocols and future trigger types.Specifications of AIN Release 0.1 SSPs may be found in BellcoreTR-NWT-001285, Switch-Service Control Point Application ProtocolInterface Generic Requirements, and Telecordia Technical ReferenceTR-NWT-001284, AIN Switching Systems Generic Requirements, thedisclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties.

[0137] In alternative embodiments, the intelligent peripheral 40 may bea SN/IP, such as an IBM Resource Manager, a Lucent Compact Service Nodeor a Lucent Enhanced Media Resource Server (eMRS). The data networkcommunicates to the PSTN (specifically the SCP 23) through theintelligent peripheral 40 using the SR-3511 protocol 46, or anequivalent protocol. Also, as stated above, the IVR 45 of theintelligent peripheral 40 is accessible through a PSTN central officeswitch (CO), such as the SSP 21 or the SSP 24. The intelligentperipheral 40 communicates with the switches using the GR-1129 protocol.

[0138] An associated data network includes a web client 30, a web server54, an authentication/subscription information server 42 and a servicestatus database 41, connectable through the Internet 44. Although FIG. 1depicts a direct connection between the Internet 44 and the web client30, such as a conventional T1 or cable modem connection, it is intendedto include any type of Internet interface, including a telephone modemconnection through the subscriber phone 25 and the associated SSP 24.The web client 30 includes a GUI 32, i.e., a PC, operating clientsoftware 34, an example of which is ICW Client, available fromSouthwestern Bell Telephone Company. Alternatively, the client software34 can be run at the web server 54. The web client 30 incorporates a webbrowser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, available from MicrosoftCorporation, or Netscape Navigator, available from NetscapeCommunications Corporation. In one embodiment, the web client 30 isimplemented with an IBM Pentium based PC, running the Linux operatingsystem, available from, for example, Free Software Foundation, Inc., orthe Microsoft Windows operating system, and running the MicrosoftInternet Explorer, Netscape Navigator or HotJava, available from SunMicrosystems, Inc., web browser software. An embodiment of the inventionincludes the web server 54 running the Linux or Microsoft Windowsoperating system and the Apache web server software, available from theApache Software Foundation, or the Jigsaw web server software, availablefrom World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

[0139]FIG. 2 is an exemplary call flow diagram depicting a subscriberusing the PCM service. Initially, the subscriber accesses a publicpacket switched data network, such as the Internet, from a web client30, using a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, NetscapeNavigator or HotJava. Once on the Internet, the subscriber connects tothe web server 54 at step 110, which serves as a secure access platform.The web server 54 receives HTTP messages from the web client 30 andprovides HTML web pages in response to the subscriber's input to the webclient 30. The web pages relate to the subscriber's PCM account.

[0140] Once connected to the web server 54, the user must first log-into the PCM account, also depicted at block 201 in FIG. 4 and describedbelow. The log-in equates to an authentication of the user. To performthe authentication, the web server 54 contacts theauthentication/subscription information (ASI) server 42 at step 111,which confirms that the subscriber is an authorized user by verifying atleast the subscriber's name and a password. The ASI server 42 alsoprovides to the web server 54 a list of the services to which the userhas subscribed in the PCM account at step 112. The services for eachphone number are linked to the PCM account through the ASI server 42.

[0141] At steps 113 and 114, the web server 54 then retrieves from theSCP 23, via the intelligent peripheral 40, current service data and therelated status of the various services, such as call monitoring andFlexible Call Forwarding, managed through the PCM account. The data andstatus of the services, i.e., service data, is forwarded to the webclient 30 at steps 115 and 116. A PCM summary page is displayed on theweb client 30 at step 120, as seen for example in FIG. 7, discussed indetail below.

[0142] In another embodiment, depicted in FIG. 3, after logging in andbeing authenticated at steps 110-112, the web server 54 retrieves from aservice status database 41 the data and status of the various servicesmanaged through the PCM account at steps 117 and 118, rather than fromthe SCP 23, directly. This database serves as a cache for the serviceinformation in the SCP 23. The service status database 41 containsinformation current to the most recent update interface with the SCP 23.The cache arrangement enables the user to efficiently access thisinformation without waiting for the SCP 23 to process the request. Atthe same time, it reduces SCP 23 traffic. The service status database 41is refreshed periodically to ensure currency, as well as pursuant to aspecific command by the user. This database is a conventionallightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) database, such as the LDAPdatabase available from Lucent Technologies, Inc. In the alternative,the database may be a standard relational database, such as thoseavailable from Oracle Corporation or Sybase, Inc.

[0143] Upon review of the service status, the user may choose tointeract with one or all of the available services, as shown in FIGS. 2and 3. When the user selects a desired service, a message is sent atstep 121 to the web server 54, which responds with the correspondingservice screen. When the user selects a particular service necessitatingaccess to the PSTN (e.g., OCC or ICM), the request is sent to theintelligent peripheral 40 at step 122.

[0144] Significantly, the intelligent peripheral 40 may be the sameintelligent peripheral that implements IVR access to the user's servicesthrough a conventional PSTN. The intelligent peripheral 40 internallytranslates data messages received from the web server 54 and accessesthe relevant call services data from the SCP 23 at step 123 through theSR-3511 protocol, the use of which enables the simultaneouscompatibility with functions of the IVR 45. Details of the SR-3511protocol are provided in Bellcore, Recommendation SR-3511 SCPIntelligent Peripheral (IP) Interface Specification for TCP/IP, Version5.0 (January 1997), the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. In various embodiments, thetranslation program is in C, C++ or JAVA. The intelligent peripheral 40then transmits a summary of the requested service, based on informationreceived from the SCP 23 at step 124, to the web server 54 at step 125.The web server 54 sends the information to the web client 30 at step 126to be displayed to the user.

[0145] At this point, the user may choose to update or to simply reviewthe service information. When the service is updated, the web server 54sends the update instructions in a data message to the intelligentperipheral 40. The intelligent peripheral then translates the updateinstruction into the SR-3511 protocol and communicates the updatedservice parameters directly to the SCP 23.

[0146] For example, one available service is call manager, discussed indetail below, which includes an Incoming Call Manager (ICM), by whichthe user may prioritize, forward, preview or block selected telephonenumbers. In the update procedure, the subscriber enters a telephonenumber to be blocked, for instance, which the web server 54 communicatesto the intelligent peripheral 40. The intelligent peripheral 40, inturn, sends the data via SR-3511 to the SCP 23, which flags the numberto be blocked. Because the instructions of the intelligent peripheral 40to the SCP 23 are sent and implemented almost immediately, without theinvolvement of the provider's account management or customer service,the changes to the service are operable and available shortly after theuser sends the instructions. In an embodiment that includes the servicestatus database 41, the cache will then be updated in due course toreflect the updated information in the SCP 23.

[0147]FIG. 4 depicts the procedure followed by the subscriber when firstentering the PCM web site. The subscriber must first log-in at block201. Assuming the subscriber's PCM account has already been established,he or she must provide the authentication data to proceed. Theauthentication data is entered at a log-in screen, an example of whichis depicted in FIG. 5 at screen 220. To maintain the integrity of thesecure platform, authentication preferably requires a user ID and apassword. The user ID is any name, not necessarily unique within the PCMsystem, selected at account initiation by the subscriber. The passwordis confidential (at the subscriber's discretion) and must be unique withrespect to the associated user ID. The subscriber may change thepassword as desired, but appropriate authentication data must beprovided prior to such changes. If the subscriber enters an invalid userID or password, the web server 54 responds with a message explaining theproblem and allows another chance to enter correct data.

[0148] After the user is authenticated, the user proceeds to enter thePCM at block 202. At this time, the user views a general informationalscreen 222 of FIG. 5, which is formatted at the discretion of theservice provider. It may include, by way of example, new servicesoffered to the subscriber. After the user elects to proceed into thePCM, the web server 54 navigates to a page 226 that displays telephonenumbers associated with the PCM account(s) to which the user belongs andto which the user is authorized to access. FIG. 6 depicts an exemplaryscreen displaying phone numbers to which the user has access.

[0149] At this point, the user selects a telephone number at block 203and the corresponding services are displayed for the selected telephonenumber at screen 224. The user may then elect to implement the variousservices in place for a particular phone number. In an embodiment of theinvention, if the user selects the Flexible Call Forwarding service inthe PCM account, he or she further enters the appropriate PIN.Alternatively, at block 202 the user may elect to manage the PCM accountat blocks 211 and 212, depending on the user's privileges, assigned bythe subscriber, within a particular account to manage the PCM account.

[0150] If the PCM has more than one associated telephone number, theuser would see a web page listing the numbers, as in screen 226 of FIG.5. The screen has user interface elements that allow the user to selectone of the numbers. Thus, each PCM account keeps track of a non-emptyset of phone numbers to be managed through the PCM on behalf of thecorresponding set of users, presumably members of a family, business,organization or other group related to the subscriber.

[0151] After the user selects a phone number at block 203, the systemdisplays for the user a PCM summary page 204 corresponding to theselected telephone number. The PCM summary page displays only data theuser is authorized to see for the selected telephone number. As shown atscreen 224, the PCM summary provides various options to the user,including by way of example, selecting from among listed services206-209, returning to select an alternative PCM telephone number orexiting PCM altogether 213.

[0152]FIG. 7 shows an exemplary PCM summary display, which correspondsto screen 224 of FIG. 5, entitled Personal Call Manager Home Page foraccount number (512) 555-5831, which is the selected telephone number inthe example. FIG. 7 shows four services accessible through the PCM,although the four services are not intended to be limiting. That is, thePCM is able to administer any call services associated with an SCP 23.The services depicted in the PCM summary screen 224, as well as in FIG.7, are Caller ID Log 240, Message Center 242, Incoming Call Manager(ICM) 244 and Outgoing Call Control (OCC) 246. The displayed informationis summary in fashion, the details being available to the user throughselection of one of the available services, which displays a PCM servicescreen 228 of FIG. 5. At the summary screen, the Caller ID Log 240 ofFIG. 7 retrieves data from the SCP 23 and shows, for example, the numberof call records added since the last review. The Message Center 242retrieves data from the SCP 23 and shows the number of new call notes,e-mails, wireless calls, faxes and messages reviewed. The ICM 244 ofFIG. 7 likewise retrieves data from the SCP 23 and shows the status ofthe call blocker, call forwarding, priority call and caller previewfeatures. The OCC summary retrieves data from the SCP 23 and showswhether international calls, long distance calls, 900/976 numbers and/ordirectory assistance calls are restricted.

[0153] From the PCM summary screen, the user may choose to use PCM tomanage any of the displayed services, indicated at block 205 in FIG. 4.This is done by simply clicking on one of the display boxes 240-246 ofFIG. 7 to cause the web server 54 to display a new web pagecorresponding to the selected service. Or, the PCM summary page includesa list of the personal services 248, which duplicates the display boxes.In addition, the list 248 may include additional personal services thatdo not require interaction with the SCP 23. These services include, forexample, a personal directory, paging capability and billing review.

[0154] The paging capability provides the option of paging thesubscriber when a caller ID is received from a subscriber specifiedphone number. Paging may include a page, a wireless short message, ane-mail, or a generated phone call to a specified number. Moreover,caller ID logs can be collected and paged to the subscriber at periodicintervals with summary and/or detailed information.

[0155] After selection of one of the services, the web server 54navigates to and displays the selected services web page, indicated byblocks 206-209, and displays the corresponding service screen 228 ofFIG. 5. The user may review information, activate or deactivate theservice or change the scope of the service, as desired, in accordancewith the level of access available to that user. After accessing one ofthe available services, the user may return to the PCM summary page atblock 210. Returning can be accomplished by selecting a specific optionto return or by simply clicking the BACK icon provided by the webbrowser. The user may also exit PCM at block 213 of FIG. 4, ending thecurrent session at block 230 of FIG. 5.

[0156] As stated above, the subscriber may interface with the PCMservice, as well as the individual AIN calling services that may beimplemented through the PCM service, through the IVR 45 of theintelligent peripheral 40. From any DTMF telephone, the subscriber dialsa toll-free number, e.g., an 800 number or local service providernumber, to access the IVR 45. Alternatively, the subscriber may dial astar code, such as *95, in response to which the SSP 24 has beenprogrammed to route the connection to the IVR 45 to access a particularAIN service, such as call blocking, discussed below. Once the connectionis established, the IVR 45 prompts the subscriber to enter an accountnumber, along with a password or PIN, using the touch tone keypad of theDTMF telephone. Upon successful authentication, the subscriber has theability to perform any number of administrative and operationalfunctions, such as changing or adding PINs, toggling the services ON andOFF and activating or deactivating customized lists and schedules.

[0157] In an embodiment of the invention, the intelligent peripheral 40(and the IVR 45) are provided with speech recognition functionality. Forexample, in response to automated voice prompts, an IBM ResourceManager, programmed with speaker independent Nuance 8.0 speechrecognition software, available from Nuance Communications, may receiveand interpret voice input from the caller, in addition to touch tonesignals. Any comparable speech recognition system may likewise beincorporated into the system, such as a Lucent eMRS.

[0158] The intelligent peripheral 40 with speech recognitionfunctionality captures analog voice signals of the subscriber andconverts the voice signals to digital data, which may be stored inrelation to the subscriber's account. The data is segmented, or arrangedinto recognizable patterns, and compared to previously stored models ofwords to be recognized. The speech recognition functionality may includemultiple languages, including English, Spanish and French.

[0159] The segmentation of data may be based on any number ofconventional speech recognition techniques. For example, the data may besegmented into phonemes, which are basic sounds or units of speech, andcompared to phonetic models to build and identify words. The phonemebased speech recognition may enable identification of continuous orfluent speech from the subscriber. Alternatively, the speech data may besegmented by timing to search for and match previously identifiedanticipated responses, such as simple words and phrases, includingnumbers, letters of the alphabet and predetermined command words, suchas ON, OFF and the days of the week. The present invention mayincorporate any level of speech recognition and associated vocabularycapable of handling basic IVR interactions between the subscriber andthe AIN services.

[0160] Furthermore, the intelligent peripheral 40 may confirm subscriberresponses that result in a low level of confidence in the speechrecognition. In other words, the processed subscriber data may beconverted into synthesized speech, generated at the intelligentperipheral 40 and transmitted to the subscriber for confirmation. Forexample, after requesting and receiving the numbers of the subscriber'sPIN, the intelligent peripheral 40 generates a prompt asking, “You saidthat your PIN was ‘1234.’ Please say ‘yes’ if this is correct and ‘no’if this it is not correct.”

[0161] When the intelligent peripheral 40 includes speech recognitioncapability, the subscriber is further able access the PCM and relatedservices from a non-DTMF telephone, as well. Also, even when using aDTMF telephone, the subscriber may choose to verbally interact with theintelligent peripheral 40, avoiding having to tediously input touchtones from the telephone keypad and saving time and effort, which isespecially advantageous when long series of numbers, such as accountnumbers or PINs, are involved. In an embodiment of the invention, NuanceVerifier 3.0 software may be incorporated in the intelligent peripheral40 to further enable verification based on the caller's voice print,enabling efficient authentication, in addition to convenient speechinteraction.

[0162] When the subscriber wishes to review or edit call service datausing speech recognition, the subscriber dials a toll-free number, e.g.,an 800 number or local service provider number to access the IVR 45 ofthe intelligent peripheral 40, as described above. Referring to FIG. 8,the SSP 24 receives the dialed number from the subscriber telephone 25at step 840 (assuming the subscriber calls from the subscriber telephone25). The SSP 24 suspends the call and queries the SCP 23 at step 841based, for example, on the calling party number and/or the dialednumber. In response, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 at step 842 toconnect with the intelligent peripheral 40 temporarily to enable thespeech recognition functionality of the intelligent peripheral 40.

[0163] At step 843, the SSP 24 establishes the temporary connection tothe intelligent peripheral 40 using GR-1129 protocol, without actuallyrouting the call to the intelligent peripheral 40. The SSP 24 continuesto suspend the call and establishes a voice connection with theintelligent peripheral 40, through a second switch, if necessary, basedsignaling instructions sent through the PSTN, such as a signaling system7 (SS7) system or comparable out-of-band signaling capability. Thetemporary connection enables the intelligent peripheral 40 to performthe speech prompting and recognition function, determine whether furthercall processing is required (or available) and return control of thecall to the SSP 24 without having to place an outbound call or remain inthe circuit.

[0164] The substance of the voice interaction is dictated by the callservice data in the subscriber's PCM account, as well as any relatedcall services implemented independently or through the PCM service, asdiscussed below. When the call service data is stored in the SCP 23, theintelligent peripheral 40 retrieves the status and service informationfrom the SCP 23 using SR-3511 at steps 844 and 845. In an alternativeembodiment, the intelligent peripheral 40 may receive the call servicedata from the SCP 23 through a common object request broker architecture(CORBA) or a transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)interface. The intelligent peripheral 40 may alternatively retrieve thecall service data from an external database, such as the service statusdatabase 41. The SCP 23 is likewise able to retrieve data from theintelligent peripheral, or an external database related to the AINservice, through a generic data interface (GDI) server, for example,invoked by a GetData command.

[0165] Based on the status and call service data, the intelligentperipheral 40 plays announcements to the subscriber through the SSP 24at steps 846 and 847. The subscriber's voice responses are received bythe intelligent peripheral 40 through the SSP 24 at steps 848 and 849.The communications between the SSP 24 and the intelligent peripheral 40incorporate GR-1129 protocol throughout the transaction. Changes made bythe subscriber to the status and call service data through the speechrecognition functionality are subsequently stored in the respectivedatabase, e.g., the SCP 23, at step 850 for immediate implementationafter being stored.

[0166] In an embodiment of the invention requiring authentication data,the intelligent peripheral 40 may initiate communication with thesubscriber prior to retrieving status and service information from theSCP 23 at steps 844 and 845. Alternatively, when authentication data isstored at a database other than the SCP 23 (e.g., the ASI server 42),the intelligent peripheral 40 perform additional steps to retrieve theauthentication data and query the subscriber through the SSP 24,accordingly.

[0167]FIG. 9 depicts another embodiment of the invention involvingspeech recognition. The subscriber dials the toll-free number or starcode to access the IVR 45 of the intelligent peripheral 40, as describedabove. At step 960, the SSP 24 receives the dialed number from thesubscriber telephone 25 (assuming the subscriber calls from thesubscriber telephone 25). The SSP 24 routes the subscriber's call to theintelligent peripheral 40 at step 961, either through normaltranslations or based on instructions from the SCP 23 in response to aquery from the SSP 24 (not pictured). The intelligent peripheral 40 thendirectly interacts with the subscriber, playing announcements andreceiving voice responses. In particular, when the call service data isstored in the SCP 23, the intelligent peripheral 40 retrieves the statusand service information from the SCP 23 using SR-3511, CORBA or TCP/IPat steps 962 and 963, in the same manner discussed above. Based on thestatus and call service data, the intelligent peripheral 40 playsannouncements to the subscriber at step 964 and receives thesubscriber's voice responses at step 965. Changes made by the subscriberto the status and call service data through the speech recognitionfunctionality are subsequently stored in the respective database, e.g.,the SCP 23, at step 966 for immediate implementation upon being stored.

[0168] The call services implemented through the PCM service may includeIVR interaction with an outside party caller, such as call monitoring,Flexible Call Forwarding and Intelligent Call Forwarding, discussedbelow. The IVR interaction with the caller may likewise include speechrecognition. When speech recognition is involved, the subscriber or theoutside caller may interact with the intelligent peripheral 40 in thesame manner indicated in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9.

[0169] For example, when the caller initiates a call from the outsideparty telephone 20 to the subscriber telephone 25, the SSP 24 is theterminating switch. Consistent with FIG. 8, the SSP 24 queries the SCP23 which identifies the particular calling service to be invoked. Inresponse to the call, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to connect thecaller to the intelligent peripheral 40 temporarily to enable the speechrecognition. While the call is suspended at the SSP 24, the intelligentperipheral 40 communicates with the caller through the SSP 24 usingGR-1129 protocol to enable announcements to be played and voiceresponses to be received from the caller and interpreted by theintelligent peripheral 40. For example, when the AIN service involvesentering a PIN to bypass a call blocking function, such as the callmonitoring service discussed below, the intelligent peripheral 40requests the bypass PIN, which may be spoken by the caller at theoutside party telephone 20. The intelligent peripheral 40 receives thespoken response, translates the response to digital data, identifies thewords (e.g., a series of numbers), and determines whether the wordsmatch the bypass PIN data stored in relation to the subscriber'saccount. When the bypass PIN is positively identified, the intelligentperipheral 40 instructs the SSP 24 to terminate the suspended call tothe subscriber telephone 25. The intelligent peripheral 40 isaccordingly disconnected.

[0170] Alternatively, the SCP 23 may instruct the SSP 24 to route thecall to the intelligent peripheral 40. Consistent with FIG. 9, theintelligent peripheral 40 then directly interacts with the caller,playing announcements and receiving voice responses. The intelligentperipheral 40 may subsequently route the call (if necessary) to the SSP24 for connection using a two B-channel transfer, a release linktransfer, a tied-up connection, or the like. Any caller data receivedthrough the speech recognition functionality that must be stored (e.g.,data enabling customized reports, such as call detail records) is storedin the applicable database (e.g., the SCP 23), as discussed above.

[0171]FIG. 10 depicts an alternative embodiment of the invention inwhich a service management system (SMS) 48 serves as the interfacebetween the web server 54 and the SCP 23, as opposed to the intelligentperipheral 40. The SMS 48 is capable of transmitting and receivinginformation to and from the SCP 23. The SMS 48 also enables thesubscriber to interface with the SCP 23 from both the subscriber phone25 (or other DTMF telephone) through the IVR 45 and from the web client30 (or other Internet compatible device) through the web server 54, viathe Internet 44. Because an intelligent peripheral 40 is not necessary,an independent IVR 45 may be included in the network. For example, theIVR 45, available under the trademark CONVERSANT System for IVR, Version6.0, Update 1, provided by Lucent Technologies, Inc., may be used.Although not pictured in FIG. 10, the network may further include anexternal database connected to the SMS 48, such as the service statusdatabase 41, and a separate authentication platform, such as the ASIserver 42.

[0172] The PCM service implemented with the SMS 48 functions in asimilar manner as described in FIGS. 2 and 3 with respect to theintelligent peripheral 40 and is discussed in detail below with respectto specific AIN based call control services. Generally, the SMS 48receives data regarding the PCM service from the SCP 23 and sends thedata to the web server 54, which causes the data to be displayed at theweb client 30. In turn, changes to the PCM service are forwarded fromthe web client 30, through the web server 54, to the SMS 48, whichstores the data and updates the SCP 23 in near real-time. The SCP 23immediately implements the modified PCM service.

[0173] Call Monitoring

[0174] Call monitoring is an AIN based service that allows a subscriberconnected to a communications network, including the Internet and otherpacket switched type data networks, as well as through conventional IVRand/or intelligent peripheral systems, to customize and executerestrictions on incoming and outgoing telephone calls for a servicesubscriber. Call monitoring may be implemented as an independent serviceor part of a PCM portfolio of AIN services. FIG. 10 illustrates anexemplary telecommunications network in association with the callmonitoring service.

[0175] The call monitoring service includes numerous features in variousembodiments of the invention. For example, the subscriber may turn thecall monitoring service ON or OFF, create a time of day, day of weekschedule for restricting telephone calls, create and maintain lists ofrestricted telephone numbers (and groups of telephone numbers) forincoming and/or outgoing calls, and create and maintain lists ofpriority telephone numbers (and groups of telephone numbers) that arenot subject to restriction regardless of other time or telephone numberrelated restrictions. The subscriber may bypass any restrictions byentering a blocking override PIN, enabling the call to process normally.The subscriber may also receive visually formatted reports and verballyformatted reports regarding blocked incoming and outgoing calls via theInternet 44 and the IVR 45, respectively. The reports may be customizedto the subscriber's specifications. The SMS 48 stores and distributessubscriber specific data relating to the call monitoring service,including account numbers, PIN numbers, call specific data andsubscriber report information. The restricted call data may be monitoredin near real-time by the subscriber at the GUI 32 via the Internet 44.

[0176] The service enables the subscriber, when connected to acommunications network, including the Internet and other packet switchedtype data networks, or to a conventional IVR system or SN/IP, tocustomize aspects of the call monitoring service, with near real-timeaccess to the service data. For example, the call monitoring servicerelates to providing call detail records, in near real-time, that can bedownloaded from a web-site related to the call monitoring service. Theweb site also provides a tool for implementing and editing the variousrestrictions, including for example, lists of restricted and prioritytelephone numbers, as well as activation/deactivation schedules.

[0177] With respect to restricted telephone numbers, the call monitoringservice receives restricted call data from the subscriber, identifiesincoming and outgoing calls by calling party number and called partynumber, and terminates restricted calls according to the subscriber'srestricted call data. The restricted call data includes, for example,restrictions on calls to and from selected telephone numbers, or groupsof telephone numbers. For example, the restrictions include specifictelephone numbers of parties from which the subscriber does not wish toreceive call, such as harassing callers and telemarketers. Additionally,the subscriber may likewise restrict outgoing calls to specifictelephone numbers, or groups of telephone numbers, such as “900” numbersor long distance numbers, generally. The calling restriction data mayalso include time of day, day of week applicability. For example, thesubscriber may specify that no calls are to be received after a certaintime, e.g., 10 p.m., on weekdays. Significantly, the subscriber retainsthe ability to override the incoming and outgoing call restrictions, ona call-by-call basis, by entering a PIN.

[0178] The subscriber may also create a list of priority numbers, whichincludes telephone numbers that are not affected by the incoming oroutgoing call restrictions, without requiring a blocking override PIN.For example, an outgoing call restriction that disables all calls fromthe subscriber's telephone after 10:00 p.m. would have as an exceptioncalls to a predesignated telephone number (i.e., a priority number) of aclose relative, thus enabling outgoing calls to that number after 10:00p.m., without the extra step of entering the blocking override PIN. Thecall monitoring service also allows calls from the subscriber telephoneto “escape” numbers, such as 911 and local fire and police departments,even during periods of call restriction, without the subscriberspecifically identifying the escape numbers as priority numbers.

[0179] As stated above, the subscriber interactively accesses the callmonitoring service by either of two methods. First, the subscriber maydial a toll-free number, e.g., an 800 number or local service providernumber, to access the IVR 45. The subscriber is prompted to enter anaccount number, along with a password or PIN (which may or may not bethe same as the blocking override PIN), further discussed below. Thesubscriber then has the ability to change any PINs (including theaccount access PIN and the blocking override PIN), toggle the service ONand OFF and create, edit, activate or deactivate restriction lists, thepriority lists and schedules. The subscriber may provide the informationrequested by the voice prompts of the IVR 45 by using the touch tones ofa DTMF telephone key pad or, when the IVR 45 is included in a SN/IPhaving speech recognition functionality, as discussed above, by simplyspeaking into the receiver. Second, the subscriber has the option toaccess the call monitoring service using the GUI 32 via the Internet 44.With the GUI 32, the subscriber is able to implement all of the IVRfunctions identified above, as well as customize reports and reportformats, and monitor the service in near real-time.

[0180]FIG. 11 is an exemplary flow diagram depicting implementation ofthe call monitoring service with respect to incoming calls, according tothe service logic of the SCP 23, in one embodiment of the invention. Thecall originates from the outside party telephone 20, and is connected tothe terminating SSP 24 through the originating SSP 21, by knownprocesses. At step s1110, the SCP 23 receives a standard AIN prompt fromthe terminating SSP 24, notifying the SCP 23 of the attemptedtermination of the call to the subscriber telephone 25. The AIN promptincludes at least the calling party number and the called party number,which correlate to the telephone numbers of the outside party telephone20 and the subscriber telephone 25, respectively. The AIN prompt, whichinitiates the call monitoring service logic at the SCP 23, may be, forexample, a terminating attempt trigger (TAT). As the SCP 23 begins toprocess the service logic in response to the trigger, the call issuspended at the terminating SSP 24.

[0181] Based on the called party number in the AIN prompt, the SCP 23determines at step s1112 whether the subscriber telephone 25 subscribesto the call monitoring service using, for example, an internal look-uptable that associates telephone numbers with AIN services. When the SCP23 determines that the called party number does not participate in thecall monitoring service, the call is allowed at step s1130. The SCP 23accordingly instructs the SSP 24 to complete the call at step s1132. Ofcourse, the call is subject to any other AIN services associated withthe subscriber telephone 25 and outside party telephone 20, asdetermined by the SCP 23, prior to instruction to complete the call.

[0182] When the subscriber telephone 25 is determined to correspond to acall monitoring service subscription, the SCP 23 determines at steps1114 whether the call blocking feature of the call monitoring serviceis active, according to a schedule previously established by thesubscriber. The SCP 23 may also determine whether the call monitoringservice itself is ON or OFF (not pictured). When the service is OFF, thecall is allowed to complete at steps s1130 and s1132.

[0183] In an embodiment of the invention, the schedule is a time of day,day of week table stored at the SCP 23. At step s1114, the SCP 23determines whether there is a match in the time of day, day of weektable, based on the time and date of the call. The time of day, day ofweek schedule includes a table of at least one date and time period,during which the call blocking feature of the call monitoring service isactive. During the date and time period, it is assumed that the SCP 23has been instructed to block all incoming calls to the subscribertelephone 25, except those on the priority list, discussed below. Thedate and time information of the schedule is provided by the subscriberto the service provider any number of ways, including contacting acustomer service representative of the service provider by telephone orinterfacing with the SCP 23 by way of the SMS 48, using the Internet 44or the IVR 45, as discussed below.

[0184] When there is not a match in the time of day, day of week table,the SCP 23 determines that the call blocking feature is not active.Therefore, all incoming calls are allowed at step s1130. The SCP 23instructs the SSP 24 to connect the call to the subscriber telephone 25at step s1132. When there is a match in the time of day, day of weektable, the SCP 23 accesses any restriction list identified in the table.At step s1116, the SCP 23 determines whether the calling party number isspecifically identified as an incoming restricted number based on anincoming restriction list. Incoming restricted numbers include specifictelephone numbers, calls from which the subscriber wishes to avoidreceiving during the time period specified in the schedule. The numbersare stored, for example, in an incoming restriction table in the SCP 23.Incoming restricted numbers also include groups of telephone numbers,such as “out of area” numbers or numbers from a particular area code,that the subscriber wishes to avoid receiving. The incoming restrictednumbers are provided to the SCP 23 through any number of avenues,including communication through customer service representatives of theservice provider or through the SMS 48, via the Internet 44 or the IVR45, as discussed below.

[0185] When the SCP 23 identifies the calling party number as anincoming restricted number, the SCP 23 determines at step s1118 whetherthe calling party number has been previously identified by thesubscriber as an incoming priority number, i.e., a number that is alwayspermitted to be connected to the subscriber telephone 25 regardless ofwhether the call blocking feature is active. For example, an incomingpriority number is permitted to connect even when the subscriberdesignates that all incoming calls are to be blocked during a particulartime period. The SCP 23 compares the calling party number to an incomingpriority list, which may be stored in a table at the SCP 23 andassociated with the subscriber's call monitoring service account. Theincoming priority list is pre-established by the subscriber and includesimportant telephone numbers, from which incoming calls are neverblocked. For example, a subscriber, who has the call monitoring servicefor his residence, may include a work telephone number on the incomingpriority list. Then, regardless of the time of day or the day of week,calls from the office telephone will not be blocked. The SCP 23determines that the call is allowed at step s1130 and the call iscompleted by the terminating SSP 24 at step s1132.

[0186] When the calling party number is not on the incoming prioritylist, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 at step s1120 to play anannouncement advising the calling party that the call monitoring servicehas blocked the call and providing various options to the calling party,including the option to enter a blocking override PIN to bypass the callblocking feature of the service. For example, in an embodiment of theinvention that includes forwarding blocked calls to a voice mailservice, the announcement queries the caller: “Please press the poundkey followed by your PIN to bypass call blocking; otherwise, pleaseleave a message after the tone.”

[0187] At step s1122 the SCP 23 determines whether it has received avalid blocking override PIN associated with the subscriber account. Ifno PIN is received, or if an invalid PIN is received, the call isterminated at step s1124. In an alternative embodiment of the invention,the SCP 23 may instruct the SSP 24 to play a second announcementwhenever an invalid PIN is received, advising the caller that the PIN isnot valid and to please try again. The call is then terminated at steps1124 only after the second attempt to enter a valid blocking overridePIN has failed. Whenever a valid blocking override PIN is received bythe SCP 23 via the SSP 24, the call is allowed at step s1130 and the SCP23 instructs the SSP 24 to connect the calling party to the subscribertelephone 25 at step s1132.

[0188] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the PINannouncement is played by a platform other than the SSP 24, such as aSN/IP. In this embodiment, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to forwardthe incoming call to the SN/IP, which plays the PIN announcement,receives the caller's digital response and determines whether theentered number matches the blocking override PIN. When the SN/IPdetermines that the number matches the blocking override PIN, the callis returned to the SSP 24, which is then instructed by the SCP 23 toconnect the call to the subscriber telephone 25.

[0189]FIG. 12 is a call flow diagram depicting an exemplaryimplementation of the call monitoring service based on an incoming callinitiated by a calling party from the outside party telephone 20 to thesubscriber telephone 25. In particular, FIG. 12 depicts an exemplarysituation in which the attempted telephone call is rejected by the SCP23, based on a match with the time of day, day of week schedule and thecalling party number being an incoming restricted number (e.g., stepss1114-s1116 of FIG. 11), and in which the calling party (e.g., thesubscriber) bypasses the call blocking feature implemented by the callmonitoring service by entering a blocking override PIN.

[0190] In particular, the calling party initiates the call from theoutside party telephone 20, connecting to the originating SSP 21 bygoing off-hook at step 1210. Upon receiving a dial tone, the callingparty dials the digits of the called party number, which is thetelephone number of the subscriber telephone 25. In response to thedialed digits, the SSP 21 routes the call to the terminating SSP 24 atstep 1212, either directly, as shown in FIG. 12, or via any number ofintervening switches. The SSP 24 launches a TAT trigger, which includesat least the calling party number and the called party number, via theSS7 network and the appropriate STP 22 (not pictured in FIG. 12) to thesubscriber's serving SCP 23 at step 1214.

[0191] At step 1215, the SCP 23 executes the SCP service logic depicted,for example, by the flow diagram of FIG. 11. Accordingly, the SCP 23determines whether the subscriber telephone 25 is associated with thecall monitoring service, whether the call blocking feature of theservice is active according to the time of day, day of week schedule,whether the calling party number is on the incoming restriction list andwhether the calling party number is on the incoming priority list. FIG.12 depicts the process whenever the SCP 23 determines at step 1215 thatthe time of day, day of week schedule indicates that the call blockingfeature is currently active and that the calling party number is on theincoming restriction list, but not on the incoming priority list. Inother words, the call is blocked. Whenever the call is blocked, the SCP23 stores the associated call data, including the calling party number,the called party number and the date and time of the call. In analternative embodiment of the invention, the call data is stored in anexternal database, which reduces the data storage burden on the SCP 23.

[0192] Therefore, at step 1216, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to playan announcement (via the SSP 21) denying the connection and requestingentry of a blocking override PIN, as indicated by steps 1218 and 1219.The calling party receives the announcement and enters a four digit PIN,for example, using the pushbutton keys of the outside party telephone20. The numbers are received by the SSP 24 via the SSP 21 at steps 1220and 1221, and forwarded to the SCP 23 at step 1222. The SCP 23 comparesthe numbers entered at the outside party telephone 20 with thepreviously established blocking override PIN, stored in the SCP 23 inassociation with the subscriber's call monitoring service account. Whenthe SCP 23 determines that the entered numbers match the stored blockingoverride PIN, it instructs the SSP 24 at step 1224 to complete thetelephone call. The result is the connection shown in step 1226 betweenthe outside party telephone 20 and the subscriber telephone 25, via theoriginating SSP 21 and the terminating SSP 24.

[0193]FIGS. 11 and 12 depict exemplary embodiments of the invention inwhich calls are placed from the outside party telephone 20 to thesubscriber telephone 25 (i.e., incoming calls), which is associated withthe call monitoring service. In contrast, FIGS. 13 and 14 depictexemplary embodiments of the invention in which calls are placed fromthe subscriber telephone 25 to the outside party telephone 20 (i.e.,outgoing calls), which incorporates a similar process.

[0194]FIG. 13 is an exemplary flow diagram depicting implementation ofthe call monitoring service with respect to outgoing calls, according tothe service logic of the SCP 23. The call originates at the subscribertelephone 25, and is connected to the outside party telephone 20 via theoriginating SSP 24 and the terminating SSP 21, by known processes. Atstep s1310, the SCP 23 receives a standard AIN prompt from theoriginating SSP 24, notifying the SCP 23 that the subscriber telephone25 has gone off-hook and numbers have been dialed. In an embodiment ofthe invention, the AIN prompt is the off-hook delay (OHD) trigger andincludes at least the calling party number and the called party number,which correlate to the telephone numbers of the subscriber telephonenumber 25 and the outside party telephone 20, respectively. As the SCP23 processes the service logic in response to the trigger, the call issuspended at the originating SSP 24.

[0195] Based on the calling party number provided by the OHD trigger,the SCP 23 determines at step s1312 whether the subscriber telephone 25subscribes to the call monitoring service using, for example, aninternal look-up table that associates telephone numbers with AINservices. When the SCP 23 determines that the calling party number isnot included among the call monitoring service accounts, the call isallowed at step s1330. The SCP 23 accordingly instructs the SSP 24 tocomplete the call at step s1332. Of course, the call is subject to anyother AIN services associated with the subscriber telephone 25 and theoutside party telephone 20, as determined by the SCP 23, prior toinstruction to complete the call.

[0196] When the subscriber telephone 25 is determined to be associatedwith the call monitoring service, and the call monitoring service isdetermined to be ON (not pictured), the SCP 23 determines whether thecall blocking feature of the call monitoring service is active,according to a schedule previously established by the subscriber. In anembodiment, the schedule is a time of day, day of week table stored atthe SCP 23. The schedule includes activation and deactivation times anddates for both incoming and outgoing call blocking, as well as outgoingrestricted numbers and outgoing priority numbers associated with theactivation periods. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, thesubscriber is provided a dedicated schedule for incoming calls and adifferent schedule for outgoing calls. Separate schedules enable thesubscriber to more particularly tailor the call monitoring service. Forexample, the subscriber may desire to restrict all incoming calls after9:00 p.m. (other than priority calls) to avoid being disturbed at homein the evening; however, the subscriber may also desire to freely placeoutgoing calls during the same time period without having to enter thecall blocking override PIN each time.

[0197] At step s1314, the SCP 23 determines whether there is a match inthe time of day, day of week table, based on the time and date of thecall. As described above with respect to step s1114 of FIG. 11, the timeof day, day of week schedules includes a table of at least one date andtime period, during which the call blocking feature of the callmonitoring service is active. During the specified date and time period,the SCP 23 blocks all outgoing calls from the subscriber telephone 25,unless otherwise specified, except calls to numbers on the outgoingpriority list, discussed below. Alternatively, the caller may provide alist of specific telephone numbers to which outgoing calls are blocked,as discussed below. The date and time information is provided to the SCP23 through any number of avenues, including through a customer servicerepresentative of the service provider or through the SMS 48, via theInternet 44 or the IVR 45, as discussed below.

[0198] When there is not a match in the time of day, day of week table,the SCP 23 determines that the call blocking feature of the callmonitoring service is not active. Therefore, all outgoing calls areallowed at step s1330. The SCP 23 accordingly instructs the SSP 24 toconnect the call from the subscriber telephone 25 at step s1332, subjectto any additional AIN services associated with the calling party numberand the called party number.

[0199] When there is a match in the time of day, day of week table, theSCP 23 determines whether the called party number (i.e., the telephonenumber of the outside party telephone 20) is specifically identified asan outgoing restricted number by consulting the outgoing restrictionlist at step s1316. The outgoing restriction list may include anytelephone number or group of telephone numbers to which the subscriberwants to prevent outgoing calls during the identified time period. Forexample, the subscriber may include specific telephone numbers, whichare stored, for example, in an outgoing restriction table in the SCP 23.Alternatively, the subscriber may identify types of telephone numbers,such as 900 numbers or numbers to a particular area code, that thesubscriber wishes to prevent. The subscriber, however, is not able toinclude in the outgoing restriction list any designated escape numbers,such as 911, the local police department and fire departments and otheremergency numbers identified by the service provider. The outgoingrestriction list is stored at the SCP 23. The outgoing restrictednumbers are provided to the SCP 23 through any number of avenues,including through a customer service representative of the serviceprovider or through the SMS 48, via the Internet 44 or the IVR 45, asdiscussed below.

[0200] In an embodiment of the invention, the subscriber may buildmultiple outgoing restriction lists, as well as incoming restrictionlists, and identify them numerically, for example. The subscriber maythen selectively specify activation and deactivation of differentoutgoing and/or incoming restriction lists in conjunction withpre-scheduled dates and times, stored in the time of day, day of weektable at the SCP 23. Alternatively, the subscriber may identify a masteroutgoing restriction list, which includes numbers previously identifiedby the subscriber as those numbers that are blocked regardless of timesand dates provided in the time of day, day of week scheduler.

[0201] In another embodiment, the outgoing restriction list and theincoming restriction list are the same list (e.g., stored in a singletable), thereby reducing the amount of memory occupied in the SCP 23.The limitations of a single restriction list may have little practicaleffect because subscribers would likely not want incoming calls fromtelephone numbers which have been blocked for outgoing calls.

[0202] When the SCP 23 determines that the called party number is not anoutgoing restricted number, the outgoing call is allowed at step s1330.The SCP 23 accordingly instructs the SSP 24 to connect the call from thesubscriber telephone 25 at step s1332. When the SCP 23 identifies thecalled party number as an outgoing restricted number, the SCP 23determines whether the called party number has been previouslyidentified by the subscriber as a priority number, i.e., a number thatis always permitted to be connected from the subscriber telephoneregardless of whether the call blocking service is active for all otheroutgoing numbers. The SCP 23 compares the called party number to anoutgoing priority list at step s1318, which may be a table stored at theSCP 23 and associated with the subscriber. When the SCP 23 determinesthat the called party number is on the outgoing priority list, the callis allowed at step s1330 and the call is completed by the terminatingSSP 21 at step s1332.

[0203] The outgoing priority list is previously established by thesubscriber and includes important telephone numbers to which outgoingcalls are never blocked. For example, a subscriber, who has the callmonitoring service for his residence, may identify a work telephonenumber to be on the outgoing priority list. Then, regardless of the timeof day or the day of week schedule and the scope of the outgoingrestriction list, calls from the subscriber telephone 25 to the officetelephone will not be blocked. Use of the outgoing priority list wouldbe useful for assuring that the subscriber's children, for example,would always be able to contact the subscriber's work phone from thesubscriber's home without having to enter a call blocking override PIN.

[0204] In an embodiment, the same priority list is used to test bothoutgoing and incoming calls. In an alternative embodiment of theinvention, the subscriber has an incoming priority list and an outgoingpriority list, which are populated separately by the subscriber. Also,as in the case of the outgoing and incoming restriction lists, thesubscriber may build multiple outgoing and incoming priority lists andidentify them numerically, for example. The subscriber may thenselectively specify activation and deactivation of different outgoingand/or incoming priority lists in conjunction with pre-scheduled datesand times, stored in the time of day, day of week table at the SCP 23.

[0205] When the called party number is not on the outgoing prioritylist, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24, at step s1320, to play anannouncement advising the calling party that the call monitoring servicehas blocked the call and providing an option for the calling party toenter a blocking override PIN at the subscriber telephone 25 to bypassthe blocking feature. For example, in an embodiment of the invention,the announcement queries the caller: “Please press the pound keyfollowed by your PIN to bypass call blocking; otherwise, please tryagain later.”

[0206] At step s1322, the SCP 23 determines whether it has received avalid blocking override PIN associated with the subscriber account. Ifno PIN is received, or if an invalid PIN is received, the call isterminated at step s1324.

[0207] The blocking override PIN for outgoing calls may be the sameblocking override PIN used to override call blocking of incomingtelephone calls, which enables the subscriber to memorize only a singlePIN to control the call monitoring service. Alternatively, separateblocking override PINs may be provided for overriding call blocking ofincoming and outgoing calls, respectively. Separate PINs enable thesubscriber to control more closely the call monitoring process. Forexample, when the subscriber is part of a family, the subscriber maywant the children to have the PIN for overriding incoming call blocking.The children would therefore always be able to call home, regardless ofthe time of day or night, and regardless of the telephone number fromwhich they are calling. However, the subscriber may not want thechildren to be able to override call blocking of outgoing calls, whichability may defeat the purpose of having the call monitoring service.Therefore, the subscriber would not inform the children of the blockingoverride PIN associated with overriding call blocking of outgoing calls.

[0208] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the SCP 23 mayinstruct the SSP 24 to play a second announcement whenever an invalidPIN is received, advising the calling party that the entered number isnot valid and to please try again. The call is then terminated at steps1324 only after the second attempt to enter a valid blocking overridePIN has failed. Whenever a valid blocking override PIN is received bythe SCP 23 via the SSP 24, the call is allowed at step s1330 and the SCP23 instructs the SSP 24 to connect the calling party to the outsideparty telephone 20 at step s1332.

[0209]FIG. 14 is a call flow diagram depicting an exemplaryimplementation of the call monitoring service based on an outgoing callinitiated by a calling party from the subscriber telephone 25 to theoutside party telephone 20. In particular, FIG. 14 depicts an exemplarysituation in which the attempted telephone call is rejected by the SCP23, based on a match with the time of day, day of week schedule and thecalled party number being an outgoing restricted number (e.g., stepss1314-s1316 of FIG. 13), and the caller (e.g., the subscriber) bypassesthe call blocking implemented by the call monitoring service by enteringa blocking override PIN.

[0210] In particular, the calling party initiates the call from thesubscriber telephone 25, connecting to the originating SSP 24 by goingoff-hook at step 1410. Upon receiving a dial tone, the calling partydials the digits of the called party number, which, in this example, isthe telephone number of the outside party telephone 20. In response tothe dialed digits, the SSP 24 suspends that call and launches an OHDtrigger, which includes at least the calling party number and the calledparty number, via the SS7 network and the appropriate STP 22 (notpictured in FIG. 14) to the subscriber's serving SCP 23 at step 1412.

[0211] At step 1413, the SCP 23 executes the SCP service logic depicted,for example, by the flow diagram of FIG. 13. Accordingly, the SCP 23determines whether the subscriber telephone 25 is associated with thecall monitoring service, whether the call blocking feature of theservice is active according to the time of day, day of week schedule,whether the called party number is on the outgoing restricted list andwhether the called party number is on the priority list (thus enablingaccess regardless of the time of day, day of week and the scope of theoutgoing restricted list). FIG. 14 depicts the process whenever the SCP23 determines at step 1413 that the time of day, day of week scheduleindicates that the call blocking feature is currently active and thatthe called party number is on the outgoing restriction list, but not onthe outgoing priority list. In other words, the outgoing call isblocked. Whenever the call is blocked, the SCP 23 stores the associatedcall data, including the calling party number, the called party numberand the date and time of the attempted call. In an alternativeembodiment of the invention, the call data is stored in an externaldatabase, which reduces the data storage burden on the SCP 23.

[0212] At step 1414, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to play anannouncement to the calling party at the subscriber telephone 25 denyingthe connection and requesting entry of a blocking override PIN, asindicated by step 1416. The calling party receives the announcement andenters a PIN, for example, using the push-button keys of the subscribertelephone 25. The blocking override PIN is received by SSP 24 at step1418 and forwarded to the SCP 23 at step 1420. The SCP 23 compares thenumbers entered at the subscriber telephone 25 with the previouslyestablished blocking override PIN, stored in the SCP 23 in associationwith the subscriber's call monitoring service account. When the SCP 23determines that the entered numbers match the stored blocking overridePIN, it instructs the SSP 24 at step 1422 to complete the telephonecall. The result is the connection shown in step 1424 between thesubscriber telephone 25 and the outside party telephone 20, via theoriginating SSP 24 and the terminating SSP 21.

[0213] As stated above, the call monitoring service enables interactionwith the subscriber over the Internet 44 and the IVR 45. FIG. 15 is acall flow diagram depicting an exemplary interaction between thesubscriber and the call monitoring service by accessing the SMS 48 overthe Internet 44. The subscriber accesses a unique uniform resourcelocator (URL) associated with the service provider. The URL is anaddress that identifies the appropriate protocol for communicating withthe service over the Internet 44. When the subscriber accesses theInternet 44, the web server 54 provides call monitoring service webscreens, transmitted from the SMS 48, to be displayed at the GUI 32.Examples of the call monitoring service web screens are shown in FIGS.16-21.

[0214] At step 1510 of FIG. 15, the subscriber connects from the webclient 30 to the web server 54 through the Internet 44. The web server54 then connects to the SMS 48, which stores and updates the callmonitoring service data, as well as associated authentication data, atstep 1512. Once connected to the SMS 48 via the web server 54, thesubscriber must be authenticated to access the corresponding serviceaccount. The SMS 48 queries the subscriber for authentication data,which may include an account number and an associated account accessPIN, via the web server 54, at steps 1514 and 1516. The account accessPIN may be the same series of numbers as the blocking override PIN,which enables the subscriber to bypass the call blocking feature of thecall monitoring service. Alternatively, the account access PIN and theblocking override PIN are different to ensure that other individuals whohave access to the blocking override PIN are not able to access theaccount over the Internet 44 and change the various settings, including,for example, the account access PIN. The subscriber is able tointeractively change all PIN numbers associated with the call monitoringservice account over the Internet 44, as well as through the IVR 45based on touch tone signals or speech recognition.

[0215] The subscriber authentication responses are received at the webserver 54 at step 1518, and forwarded to the SMS 48 for authenticationat step 1520. Alternatively, web server 54 may perform theauthentication step based on information sent from SMS 48. The SMS 48retrieves the account number and associated account access PIN toconfirm that the subscriber is authorized to access the accountinformation.

[0216] After a successful authentication, the SMS 48 queries the SCP 23to retrieve the data associated with the subscriber's call monitoringservice account at step 1522. The SCP 23 retrieves the subscriber'sdata, schedules, incoming and outgoing restriction lists and incomingand outgoing priority lists. The SCP 23 also retrieves the call dataassociated with the incoming and outgoing calls that were blocked. In anembodiment of the invention, the SMS 48 maintains a database of all ofthe call monitoring service data related to each subscriber, and merelyupdates the data from the SCP 23 during each interaction. Alternatively,the SCP 23 periodically transmits all call monitoring service datarelated to each subscriber regardless of whether the subscribers haveactually requested their respective account data from the SMS 48. TheSMS 48 would then be able to provide the subscriber with relativelyrecent data without performing steps 1522 and 1524, which savesadditional processing by the SCP 23. Steps 1522 and 1524 would beperformed only when the subscriber specifically requests the most recentdata or real-time interaction, discussed below.

[0217] Once the SMS 48 has the call monitoring service data related tothe subscriber's account, an interactive connection is maintained atstep 1526 among the SMS 48, the web server 54 and the web client 30. Forexample, the web server 54 receives HTTP messages from the subscriber atweb client 30 and provides HTML web pages in response to thesubscriber's input. The web pages relate to the subscriber's callmonitoring service, as indicated by the SMS 48. Whenever the subscriberlogs off of the call monitoring service web site, disconnecting the websever 54 from the SMS 48, the SMS 48 automatically updates the SCP 23 atstep 1530 with the updated information provided by the subscriber. TheSMS 48 may also provide updated information to the SCP 23 while thesubscriber is still on-line, either periodically or in response to aspecific command by the subscriber to do so. The SCP 23 stores theupdated information received from the SMS 48 for immediateimplementation in the PSTN.

[0218] FIGS. 16-21 are exemplary web pages provided the web client 30 bythe SMS 48 by way of web server 54, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The actual layout of the web pages, as well as thespecific options made available to the subscriber on the web pages, mayvary.

[0219]FIG. 16 is an exemplary web page 700 displayed at GUI 32 after thesubscriber has been successfully authenticated, as described withrespect to steps 1510-1520 of FIG. 15. The web page 700 is a typicallayout enabling the subscriber to schedule the call blocking feature forincoming calls to subscriber telephone 25. The telephone number 705displayed at the bottom of the screen is the telephone number of thesubscriber to which the call monitoring service corresponds. Asubscriber may have multiple telephone numbers, in the case of abusiness, for example, which may be controlled and monitoredindependently or collectively, as desired by the subscriber.

[0220] The incoming call blocking feature of the call monitoring servicecan be turned ON and OFF using buttons 701 and 702, respectively. FIG.16 indicates that the incoming call blocking feature is ON and thereforeactive. In an embodiment of the invention, the call blocking feature ofthe service is implemented separately from the scheduler. In otherwords, the subscriber may identify telephone numbers (or groups oftelephone numbers) from which incoming calls are always blocked wheneverthe call monitoring service itself is activated.

[0221] The web page 700 indicates two sections related to incomingcalls: the “Blocking Incoming” section, which is active with respect tothe calling numbers list 730 from the start time 712 to the stop time714, and the “Allow Incoming” section, which is active with respect tothe calling numbers list 740 from the start time 722 to the stop time724. The calling numbers lists 730 and 740 correlate to the incomingrestriction list and the incoming priority list, described with respectto FIG. 11, above. According to the example shown in FIG. 16, theincoming restriction list of the “Blocking Incoming” section is activefrom 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., as indicated by the start time field 712and the stop time field 714, respectively. The active period occurs eachweek day, Monday through Friday, as indicated by the highlighting of theM, T, W, T, F in the day field 710. The incoming priority list of the“Allow Incoming” section is likewise active from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00p.m., as indicated by the start time field 722 and the stop time field724, respectively. The active period occurs each week day, Mondaythrough Friday, as indicated by the highlighting of the M, T, W, T, F inthe day of the week field 720. The time period for activating theincoming restriction list usually matches the time period for incomingpriority list. Therefore, in an embodiment of the invention, the webpage 700 would include an option for the subscriber to simply select“same” (not pictured) with respect to the incoming priority list timeperiod. In the example depicted in FIG. 16, the subscriber hasinstructed the blocking feature of the call monitoring service to blockcertain incoming calls, each weekday, from 6:00 p.m. through 10:00 p.m.

[0222] The subscriber selects the telephone numbers in the incomingrestriction list 730 by clicking on the number in the list. Thesubscriber may add and delete telephone numbers in the incomingrestriction list 730, as desired, via the Internet 44 or the IVR 45, asdiscussed below. Entry 731 of the restricted calling number list 730 is“ALL,” which has been selected in the exemplary web page 700, asindicated by highlighting and an asterisk. In response to the selectionof entry 731, the call monitoring service blocks all incoming calls tothe subscriber telephone 25 during the call blocking period, subject tothe parameters set in the “Allow Incoming” section, as discussed below.In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the subscriber is giventhe option to build a master incoming rejection list that is not subjectto the time of day, day of week scheduler. In other words, thesubscriber may identify telephone numbers from which calls are alwaysaccepted, regardless of the status of the “Block Incoming” and “AllowIncoming” sections of web page 700.

[0223] The incoming restriction list 730 includes additional exemplaryentries, which are not highlighted in the example of FIG. 16. Entries732-735 are specific telephone numbers; entry 736 is an area code, only(i.e., the numbering plan area (NPA) of a ten digit telephone number);and entry 737 is an area code plus a local exchange identifier (i.e.,the NXX of a seven digit number). Selection of entries 732-735 resultsin only those specific numbers being blocked. Selection of entry 736results in all numbers from area code 808 being blocked. Selection ofentry 737 results in all numbers from area code 919 and exchange 333being blocked.

[0224] The subscriber selects telephone numbers from the incomingpriority list 740, which will be permitted to connect regardless ofwhether the call blocking feature is active. Telephone number entries742 and 745 have been selected, as indicated by highlighting andasterisks, according to the example depicted in FIG. 16. Therefore,during the same time period in which the “Block Incoming” section of theweb page 700 is active, calls from telephone numbers 742 and 745 willstill be permitted to connect, even though calls from all othertelephone numbers are blocked. Telephone numbers 742 and 745 may be, forexample, the telephone numbers of the subscriber's children's school andthe subscriber's work place, calls from which have been deemed by thesubscriber as too important to block. In an alternative embodiment ofthe invention, the subscriber is given the option to build a masterincoming priority list that is not subject to the time of day, day ofweek scheduler. In other words, the subscriber may identify telephonenumbers from which calls are always accepted, regardless of the statusof the “Block Incoming” and “Allow Incoming” sections of web page 700.

[0225] The incoming priority list 740 also includes entry 741, “ALL,”which effectively overrides the incoming restriction list 730. In anembodiment of the invention, selection of entry 741 overrides the callblocking of incoming restriction list, except for when specifictelephone numbers have been highlighted in the incoming restrictionlist. Entries 743 and 744 of the incoming priority list 740 are specifictelephone numbers; entry 746 is an area code; and entry 747 is an areacode plus a local exchange identifier. As in the case of the incomingrestriction list 730, the remaining entries of the incoming prioritylist 740 allow connection of calls from the telephone numbers, the areacode or the area code plus exchange when entries 743, 744, 746 and 747have been selected, respectively. Note that web page 700 has no effecton the ability of the subscriber to bypass any incoming call blockingusing the subscriber blocking override PIN.

[0226]FIG. 17 likewise depicts exemplary web page 700, which isdisplayed at GUI 32 after the subscriber has been successfullyauthenticated. FIG. 17, however, indicates the call blocking parametersfor Saturday and Sunday, as indicated by the highlighting of S and S inthe day of the week fields 710 and 720. The start time and the stop timefor the call blocking feature on both days is 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.,respectively. During that time period, calls are blocked from telephonenumbers 733 and 735 of the incoming restriction list 730. The selectednumbers are highlighted and marked by asterisks.

[0227] The start time field 722, the stop time field 724 and the day ofthe week field 720 indicate that the “Allow Incoming” section of webpage 700 is active during the same time period on Saturday and Sunday.However, the incoming priority list 740 has an single entry 748, “N/A,”meaning “not applicable.” In the depicted embodiment of the invention,whenever the subscriber selects only specific telephone numbers to beblocked (e.g., entries 733 and 735) pursuant to the incoming restrictionlist 730, the incoming priority list 740 automatically displays “N/A”because all other incoming calls are allowed.

[0228]FIG. 18 is an exemplary web page 900 displayed at GUI 32 after thesubscriber has been successfully authenticated, as described withrespect to steps 1510-1520 of FIG. 15. The web page 900 is a typicallayout enabling the subscriber to schedule the call blocking feature foroutgoing calls from the subscriber telephone 25. The telephone number705 displayed at the bottom of the screen is the same subscribertelephone number to which the call monitoring service corresponds.

[0229] The outgoing call blocking feature of the call monitoring servicecan be turned ON and OFF using buttons 901 and 902, respectively. FIG.18 indicates the outgoing call blocking feature is ON and thereforeactive. In an embodiment of the invention, the outgoing call blockingfeature of the service is implemented separately from the scheduler. Inother words, the subscriber may identify telephone numbers (or groups oftelephone numbers) to which outgoing calls are always permitted wheneverthe call monitoring service itself is activated. Furthermore, certaintelephone numbers are always permitted inherently, including emergencynumbers, such as 911, and select non-emergency numbers, such as 311.

[0230] The web page 900 indicates two sections related to outgoingcalls: the “Block Outgoing” section, which is active with respect to thecalling numbers list 930 from the start time 912 to the stop time 914,and the “Allow Outgoing” section, which is active with respect to thecalling numbers list 940 from the start time 922 to the stop time 924.The calling numbers lists 930 and 940 correlate to the outgoingrestriction list and the outgoing priority list, described with respectto FIG. 13, above.

[0231] According to the example shown in FIG. 18, the “Block Outgoing”section is active from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., as indicated by the starttime field 912 and the stop time field 914, respectively. The activeperiod occurs each day, Monday through Friday, as indicated by thehighlighting of the M, T, W, T, F in the day field 910. The “AllowOutgoing” section is likewise active from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., asindicated by the start time field 922 and the stop time field 924,respectively. The active period occurs each day, Monday through Friday,as indicated by the highlighting of the M, T, W, T, F in the day field920. The time period for blocking outgoing calls usually matches thetime period for allowing outgoing calls. Therefore, in an embodiment ofthe invention, the web page 900 includes an option for the subscriber tosimply select “same” (not pictured) with respect to the time period forallowing outgoing calls. In the example depicted in FIG. 18, thesubscriber has instructed the blocking feature of the call monitoringservice to block certain outgoing calls, each weekday, from 4:00 p.m.through 6:00 p.m. For example, that time may be designated for childrenin the household to focus on homework assignments.

[0232] The subscriber selects the telephone numbers in the outgoingrestriction list 930 by clicking on a number in the list. The subscribermay add and delete telephone numbers in the outgoing restriction list930, as desired, via the Internet 44 or the IVR 45, as discussed below.Entry 931 of the outgoing restriction list 930 is “ALL,” which has beenselected in the exemplary web page 900, as indicated by highlighting andan asterisk. In response to the selection of entry 931, the callmonitoring service blocks all outgoing calls from the subscribertelephone 25 during the call blocking period, subject to the parametersset in the “Allow Outgoing” section, discussed below.

[0233] The outgoing restriction list 930 includes additional exemplaryentries, which are not highlighted in the example of FIG. 18. Entries932-936 are specific telephone numbers. Selection of any one of entries932-936 results in calls to the corresponding telephone numbers beingblocked. The outgoing restriction list 930 may also include entries ofan area code and/or an area code plus a local exchange identifier (notpictured). Selection of an area code, only, would result in all numbersto that area code being blocked. In an alternative embodiment of theinvention, the subscriber is given the option to build a master outgoingrestriction list that is not subject to the time of day, day of weekscheduler. In other words, the subscriber may identify telephone numbersto which calls are never permitted, regardless of whether the outgoingcall blocking feature has been activated for other telephone numbers orgroups of telephone numbers.

[0234] The subscriber selects telephone numbers from the outgoingpriority list 940, which will be permitted to connect regardless ofwhether the call blocking feature is active. Telephone number entries942 and 945 have been selected, as indicated by highlighting andasterisks, according to the example depicted in FIG. 18. Therefore,during the same time period in which the “Block Outgoing” section of theweb page 900 is active, calls to telephone numbers 942 and 945 willstill be permitted to connect, even though calls to all other telephonenumbers are blocked. Telephone numbers 942 and 945 may be, for example,the telephone numbers of close relatives, deemed by the subscriber astoo important to block. In an alternative embodiment of the invention,the subscriber is given the option to build a master outgoing prioritylist that is not subject to the time of day, day of week scheduler. Inother words, the subscriber may identify telephone numbers to whichcalls are always allowed, regardless of the status of the “BlockOutgoing” and “Allow Outgoing” sections of web page 900.

[0235] The outgoing priority list 940 also includes entry 941, “ALL,”which effectively overrides the outgoing restriction list 930. In anembodiment of the invention, selection of entry 941 overrides the callblocking of the outgoing restriction list, except for those specifictelephone numbers that have been highlighted in the outgoing restrictionlist. Entries 943, 944 and 946 are specific telephone numbers, to whichoutgoing calls would be permitted if they were selected. The outgoingpriority list 940 may also include entries of an area code and/or anarea code plus a local exchange identifier (not pictured). Selection ofan area code, only, would result in all numbers to that area code beingallowed. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the subscriberis given the option to build a master outgoing priority list that is notsubject to the time of day, day of week scheduler. In other words, thesubscriber may identify telephone numbers to which calls are alwayspermitted, regardless of the outgoing restriction and priority listsotherwise indicated by the scheduler. Note that web page 900 has noeffect on the ability of the subscriber to bypass any outgoing callblocking using the subscriber blocking override PIN.

[0236]FIG. 19 likewise depicts an exemplary web page 900, which isdisplayed at GUI 32 after the subscriber has been successfullyauthenticated. FIG. 19, however, indicates the outgoing call blockingparameters for Monday, only, as indicated by the highlighting of M inday fields 910 and 920. The start time and the stop time for the callblocking feature for Monday is 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.During that time period, calls are blocked to telephone numbers 934 and935, as well as to the area code plus exchange identifier 937, of theoutgoing restriction list 930. The selected numbers are highlighted andmarked by asterisks. The selected time period, applicable only one day aweek, may be, for example, a time during which a baby sitter watcheschildren at the subscriber's house and the subscriber wants to preventinappropriate use of the telephone.

[0237] The start time field 922, the stop time field 924 and the day ofthe week field 920 indicate that the “Allow Outgoing” section of webpage 900 is active during the same time period on Monday. However, theoutgoing priority list 940 has a single entry 947, which is a telephonenumber. Note that the telephone number 947 has the same area code andexchange identifier as entry 937 of the outgoing restriction list 930.Listing the telephone number 947 in the outgoing priority list 940 isnecessary because calls to telephone number entry 947 would otherwise beblocked. In the baby sitter example, the telephone number entry 947 maybe the telephone number of a location where the subscriber expects to beduring the designated time period. The baby sitter is therefore able tocall the subscriber at the listed number, even though it is in therestricted area code and exchange. Otherwise, the subscriber would haveto provide the baby sitter the blocking override PIN to override theoutgoing call restrictions.

[0238] The subscriber is able to further customize the call monitoringservice in response to web screens provided over the Internet 44. Forexample, FIG. 20 depicts a screening routing list web page 1100, whichenables the subscriber to determine the automated announcement played inresponse to an incoming blocked call, as described, for example, withrespect to step s1124 of FIG. 11. The exemplary options include playingan announcement to the caller and forwarding the call to an alternativetelephone number. The incoming blocking announcement is shown at balloon1104, which is activated and deactivated by the ON button 1101 and theOFF button 1102, respectively. In an alternative embodiment of theinvention, the web page 1100 provides the subscriber multipleannouncements from which to choose.

[0239] The telephone number to which a blocked call is forwarded isshown as forwarding number 1134, indicated by NPA-NXX-XXX. Theforwarding number 1134 can be any telephone number, including thetelephone number of the subscriber's answering service or a locationwhere the subscriber expects to be during the active call blocking timeperiod. The forwarding option is activated and deactivated by the ONbutton 1131 and the OFF button 1132, respectively.

[0240]FIG. 20 depicts the situation in which the subscriber elects toplay the incoming blocking announcement 1104, as indicated by selectionof the ON button 1101. The OFF button 1132 has also been selected by thesubscriber, so a caller is not given the option to leave a message orhave the call forwarded elsewhere. In one embodiment of the invention,the subscriber may select both the ON button 1101 and the ON button1131. The caller would then hear the designated announcement, but alsobe presented a choice of calling back or having the call forwarded tothe predesignated number 1134.

[0241] As indicated above, the call data related to blocked telephonecalls, including blocked calls subsequently bypassed by entry of aproper blocking override PIN, is stored at the SCP 23. When thesubscriber accesses the SMS 48 via the web server 54 over the Internet44, the SMS 48 retrieves the stored data from the SCP 23, as indicatedin step 1522 of FIG. 15, enabling the subscriber to review the call datarelated to the blocked calls, to delete the call data, to save the calldata in alternate databases, to design and populate reports based on thecall data, and to display and print the call data reports.

[0242]FIG. 21 is an exemplary web page 2100, displaying a report ofblocked call data on a specific date (e.g., Sep. 1, 2001). The report onweb page 2100 includes three columns of information. Column 2110 is theincoming blocked calls column, which includes the calling number of eachtelephone call that was blocked by the incoming call blocking feature ofthe call monitoring service. Column 2130 is the outgoing blocked callscolumn, which includes the called number of each telephone call that wasblocked by the outgoing call blocking feature. Column 2120 is theTime/Date column, which includes the time and date the calls from bothcolumn 2110 and column 2130 were blocked in chronological order. In theexample depicted by FIG. 21, the report is limited to Sep. 1, 2001, sothe date parameter is the same for every blocked call. However, thesubscriber may select a report covering any time period, such as anentire week or month. Furthermore, in an embodiment of the invention,the subscriber is able to create graphical representations, includingbar charts and pie charts, summarizing various blocked call reports.

[0243] The subscriber is also able to monitor the call blocking activityof the call monitoring service in near real-time at the GUI 32 via theInternet 44. The web client 30 is connected to the SMS 48, via the webserver 54, when the incoming and/or outgoing call blocking features ofthe service are active. The subscriber views a web screen similar to webscreen 2100 of FIG. 21 and indicates that real-time updates are desired.In response, the SMS 48 periodically queries the SCP 23 to determinewhether additional call data has been stored since the preceding query.The frequency of the queries (e.g., once per minute versus once per 10minutes) depends in part on the capabilities of the SMS 48 and the SCP23. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the SCP 23 updatesthe SMS 48 automatically at a predetermined rate, regardless of whetherthe subscriber has specifically requested such updates. The SMS 48 wouldthus have current call monitoring information and need not query the SCP23 (e.g., step 1522 of FIG. 15) whenever the subscriber logs on to theInternet 44 and requests access to the call monitoring service.

[0244] All of the information and related iterations available to thesubscriber over the Internet 44, described with respect to FIGS. 16-21are likewise available to the subscriber over the IVR 45 of FIG. 10, aswell as the intelligent peripheral 40 (and associated IVR 45) of FIG. 1.Exemplary steps by which the subscriber interacts with the callmonitoring service through the IVR 45 are shown in FIG. 22. Accessthrough the IVR 45 is limited in that the subscriber cannot actuallybuild, edit or view reports using the IVR 45. However, the subscribercan access all other features of the call monitoring service, includingchanging the account access PIN, changing the blocking override PIN,toggling the service ON or OFF and building, editing, activating anddeactivating schedules, restriction lists and priority lists. In anembodiment of the invention, the subscriber also receives a voicegenerated report of blocked calls, along with the respective dates andtimes. When the IVR 45 is included in the functionality of anintelligent peripheral 40, it may include speech recognition capabilityto enable the subscriber to verbally interact with the service, asdescribed above.

[0245] Referring to FIG. 22, the subscriber calls a toll free numberfrom the subscriber telephone 25, which accesses the IVR 45 via the SSP24, shown at steps 2210 and 2211. Although FIG. 22 depicts the calloriginating from the subscriber telephone 25, the subscriber may accessthe IVR 45 from any telephone that can access the PSTN. The IVR 45receives the call and initiates a request for various authenticationinformation, such as the subscriber account number and a related accountaccess PIN number, at step 2212. (Although communications between thesubscriber telephone 25 and the IVR 45 pass through the SSP 24, andpossibly additional switches in the PSTN, this step is omitted forconvenience.) The account number and the account access PIN, which maybe the same as the account number and account access PIN used to accessthe call monitoring service via the Internet 44, are entered by thesubscriber using the touch tones or speaking into the receiver of thesubscriber telephone 25 at step 2213. The pre-programmed voiceannouncements for this aspect of the invention reside in the IVR 45, andimplementation of the voice announcements is well known. The IVR 45forwards the information to the SMS 48 at step 2214 for authentication.

[0246] After authentication, the SMS 48 retrieves the current servicedata for the identified call monitoring service account, including thecurrent schedules and restriction and priority lists, from the SCP 23 atsteps 2215 and 2216. The SMS 48 then provides the IVR 45 with the dataspecific to the subscriber account at step 2220. The IVR 45 verballyrecites a menu of options to the subscriber at step 2221 based on theinformation received from the SMS 48. For example, the subscriber mayhave previously built a variety of schedules designated “1” for theweekday incoming call schedule (including restricted and priority numberlists), “2” for the weekday outgoing call schedule, “3” for the weekendincoming call schedule, “4” for the weekend outgoing call schedule and“5” for the weekday schedule when a baby sitter is at the subscriber'shouse. The subscriber selectively activates one or more of theschedules, pressing or speaking the number associated with the desiredoption. The information is provided by the subscriber in response to thevoice generated options of the IVR 45 at step 2222. The IVR 45 forwardsthe information to the SMS 45 at step 2223, which updates thesubscriber's account at the SCP 23 at step 2224, accordingly. The SCP 23then handles telephone calls to and from the subscriber telephone 25according to the updated account information.

[0247] Flexible Call Forwarding

[0248] Flexible Call Forwarding is an AIN based service that allows asubscriber connected to a communications network, including the Internetand other packet switched type data networks, as well as throughconventional IVR or and/or SN/IP systems, to customize and execute callforwarding services with near real-time access to the service data.Flexible Call Forwarding may be implemented as an independent service orpart of a PCM portfolio of AIN services. FIG. 23 illustrates anexemplary telecommunications network in association with Flexible CallForwarding. FIG. 23 is the same as FIG. 10, with the addition of anoptional names database 50 connected to the SCP 23, which can be, forexample a line information database (LIDB). Furthermore, for purposes ofdiscussion, the exemplary network may further include an SN/IP 57 inplace of the intelligent peripheral 40 and/or the IVR 45, as discussedabove. (The SN/IP 57 is specifically utilized in the Intelligent CallForwarding aspects of the invention, as discussed below.)

[0249] Generally, Flexible Call Forwarding enables a subscriber todirect incoming calls to alternative telephone numbers. In anembodiment, Flexible Call Forwarding further includes several optionalfeatures that the subscriber customizes. Among these features is an“automatic-off” function, which is a preset day and time when FlexibleCall Forwarding will deactivate without further instruction from thesubscriber. Also, there is a priority screening list, in which thesubscriber designates priority names and telephone numbers. When thepriority screening list is activated, only calls received from thetelephone numbers on the list are forwarded. Flexible Call Forwardingalso includes a weekly scheduler, in an embodiment, which enables thesubscriber to schedule up to a week in advance the time when the serviceis on or off, the associated telephone numbers to which calls areforwarded and whether the priority screening list is ON or OFF. Otherembodiments allow scheduling further in advance.

[0250] As in the call monitoring service, discussed above, thesubscriber can access and modify the call forwarding service status viatwo methods. First, from any telephone, the subscriber dials a toll-freenumber, e.g., an 800 number, to access the IVR 45 and/or the SN/IP 57.The subscriber is prompted to enter an account number, along with a PIN,further discussed below. The subscriber then has the ability to changethe PIN, change the forwarding phone number, toggle the service ON andOFF, specify a day and time when the service will be deactivated andactivate or deactivate the priority screening list and the preset weeklyschedule. The subscriber may provide the information requested by thevoice prompts of the IVR 45 by using the touch tones of a DTMF telephonekey pad or, when the IVR 45 is included in an SN/IP having speechrecognition functionality, such as the SN/IP 57, by simply speaking intothe telephone receiver, as discussed above. Second, the subscriber hasthe option to access the Flexible Call Forwarding service using a GUIvia the Internet 44. Over the web connection, the subscriber is able toimplement all of the IVR functions identified above, as well as buildthe priority screening list and design the weekly scheduler.

[0251] In order to implement Flexible Call Forwarding, a TAT is set inthe terminating SSP 24. The trigger launches when a call terminates tothe subscriber telephone 25. Therefore, when the subscriber receives acall, the call is suspended at the terminating SSP 24 and a terminationattempt query is sent to the SCP 23 for instructions via the STP 22.Upon receiving the query, the SCP 23 verifies whether the subscribertelephone 25 subscribes to the Flexible Call Forwarding service. If aFlexible Call Forwarding subscription is found, the service logic at theSCP 23 determines the status of the call forwarding service. In otherwords, it determines whether Flexible Call Forwarding is ON or OFF andwhether various features have been activated. After making thesedeterminations, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 where to send thesuspended call, i.e., whether to terminate the call to the subscribertelephone 25 or to forward the call to an alternative telephone numberpreviously specified by the subscriber.

[0252] As stated above, Flexible Call Forwarding may include anautomatic-off function, a priority screening list and a scheduler. Theseexemplary features can be routinely and efficiently customized by thesubscriber without involvement of the account provider, whichconventionally is time consuming and inconvenient.

[0253] The automatic-off function enables the subscriber to designate atime for Flexible Call Forwarding to deactivate automatically once theservice has been activated. The automatic-off function option ispresented to the subscriber each time Flexible Call Forwarding isactivated. If an OFF time is entered, the service stops forwarding calls(i.e., the calls are terminated at the subscriber's telephone 25) afterthe designated time. If no OFF time is entered, the call forwardingservice remains active until the subscriber instructs otherwise. If thesubscriber elects to activate the weekly scheduler, the automatic-offfunction is disabled to prevent interference with the scheduler.

[0254] The priority screening list is available for use at thesubscriber's option. The list contains the names and telephone numbersof priority callers, as designated by the subscriber. In an embodiment,if the priority screening list has been activated, the SCP 23 will onlyforward calls originating from phone numbers included in the list. Allother calls are terminated at the subscriber telephone 25. The priorityscreening list is implemented through a screening table, which is storedat the SCP 23 and the SMS 48 and is accessible by the subscriber via theInternet 44, as discussed in detail below.

[0255] The scheduler provides a weekly schedule of times for activatingand deactivating Flexible Call Forwarding, as well as any featuresassociated with Flexible Call Forwarding. For example, the schedulerindicates the times at which the priority screening list is on or off,which times do not necessarily correspond to the Flexible CallForwarding service activation. The scheduler also designates thetelephone numbers to which calls are to be forwarded corresponding tothe various on and off times. The scheduler is implemented through atime of day and day of week (“tod/dow”) table, which is stored at theSCP 23 and accessible by the subscriber by the Internet 44, discussed indetail below.

[0256] In another embodiment, a rejection screening list feature isavailable. This feature is related to the priority screening listfeature, except the rejection screening list includes names and phonenumbers which are to be rejected. Calls from numbers on the rejectionscreening list are terminated to the subscriber's number (i.e., notforwarded) or forwarded to an alternative number designated for rejectedcalls.

[0257] A subscriber's exemplary interaction with Flexible CallForwarding is depicted in the call flow diagram of FIG. 24. Thesubscriber is able to access the Flexible Call Forwarding service via anintelligent peripheral, an IVR or the Internet, thereby greatlyincreasing flexibility and convenience. FIG. 24 depicts interaction withFlexible Call Forwarding over the Internet, using a GUI, for accessingand updating the more complicated procedures for customizing theservice, including building the priority screening lists and weeklyschedules, discussed above. In order for the subscriber to accessFlexible Call Forwarding via the Internet 44, the subscriber accesses aURL associated with the service provider. The URL is an address andidentifies the appropriate protocol for communicating with the serviceover the web. When the subscriber accesses the Internet, the web server54 provides Flexible Call Forwarding web screens, transmitted from theSMS 48, examples of which are shown in FIGS. 25-30. In an embodiment, analternative manner for accessing the Flexible Call Forwarding data viathe Internet is through the PCM service, described below.

[0258] At step 2402 of FIG. 24, the subscriber accesses Flexible CallForwarding data by connecting from the web client 30 to the web server54 through the Internet 44. The web server 54 then connects to the SMS48, which stores and updates the Flexible Call Forwarding data, as wellas authentication data, at step 2403. The web server 54 receives HTTPmessages from the subscriber web client 30 and provides HTML web pagesin response to the subscriber's input. The web pages relate to thesubscriber's Flexible Call Forwarding service, as indicated by the SMS48.

[0259] Once connected to the SMS 48 via the web server 52, the user mustprovide authentication information to access the corresponding account.The SMS 48 performs the authentication at step 2404. The SMS 48 queriesthe subscriber for an account number and associated password, whichconfirms the user's identity. The SMS 48 then retrieves the accountnumber and associated password information to confirm that thesubscriber is an authorized user. After successful authentication, theSMS 48 retrieves at step 2406 the current service data for the FlexibleCall Forwarding service, including current priority screening lists andschedules, and makes the service data available to the subscriber. TheSMS 48 forwards the service data information to the web server 54 atstep 2407, which forwards the data to web client 30 via the Internet 44at step 2408.

[0260] The subscriber is presented with a number of options for eachtelephone number in the account. For example, the subscriber can changethe PIN, toggle the various Flexible Call Forwarding features ON or OFF,set the automatic-off function day and time, and activate or deactivatethe priority screening list and the weekly web schedule. In addition,the subscriber can build or edit the priority screening lists and weeklyschedules.

[0261] For example, FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary web page, displayed onthe monitor of PC 32 at the web client 30, showing the weekly scheduleraccording to an embodiment of the invention. The scheduling table 60contains data entries from left to right for a Flexible Call Forwardingon-time, off-time and applicable days of the week, which are indicted byMTWTFSS (i.e., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturdayand Sunday). The first entry 59, for instance, shows an on-time of 3:00p.m. and an off-time of 7:00 p.m. This period of Flexible CallForwarding activation is applied Monday through Friday. Similarly, thesecond activation period 62 is set for 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. onMonday, Wednesday and Friday. The third activation period 63 isscheduled for Saturday, only, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00p.m. In one embodiment, the days and times provided in the schedulertable must be within one week of the time the subscriber populates thetable, although alternate embodiments are not limited to the one weekschedule. The subscriber can easily edit the weekly schedule, inreal-time, by simply selecting the Edit button or the Delete button,included in columns 64 and 65, respectively.

[0262] If the subscriber desires to build the schedule by adding anotheractivation period, he or she simply selects the Add One button 66,located directly above scheduling table 60. Upon selecting the Add Onebutton, the subscriber is presented with a new web page at web client30, an example of which is shown in FIG. 26. The subscriber fills in theblank data fields to indicate the desired additional activation period.The Time Start field 66 is the on-time for Flexible Call Forwarding,including an AM or a PM designation. In this example, the subscriberchooses an on-time of 8:00 a.m. Likewise, the subscriber specifies theTime End 67, which is 11:00 a.m. The subscriber then assigns the days ofthe week to which the new activation period applies by simply checkingthe corresponding boxes 68. In this case, the Flexible Call Forwardingperiod of 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. will automatically activate on Sunday.The subscriber enters the new activation period by choosing the Nextindication 69. The SMS 48 responds by sending the updated weeklyschedule screen to the Web client 30, an example of which is shown inFIG. 27. The new activation period 70 is now listed in scheduling table60, acknowledging to the subscriber that the instructions have beenreceived and implemented.

[0263]FIG. 28 shows an exemplary web page for the priority screeninglist, according to an embodiment of the invention. The priorityscreening list 72 contains data entries for priority telephone numbersand corresponding names. As described in detail below, the SMS 48 storesthese telephone numbers and names, and forwards the telephone numbers tothe SCP 23. Whenever the priority screening list is active, onlytelephone calls from the numbers on the list will be forwarded accordingto the subscriber's Flexible Call Forwarding instructions. Edits andadditions to the priority screening list 72 are implementedsubstantially the same to the weekly schedule edits and additions. Anexisting entry can be edited or deleted using the Edit buttons 73 andthe Delete buttons 74, respectively. Selecting the Add One button 75causes the SMS 48 to send another web page dedicated to building thepriority screening list. The subscriber populates the fields fortelephone number and name, selects Next and is returned to the priorityscreening web page of FIG. 28, which would include the additional entryin list 72.

[0264] In addition to editing and building the weekly schedule and thepriority screening list, the subscriber can specify the call forwardingtimes and service to be applied. FIG. 29 shows an exemplary web pagepresented to the web client 30 by the SMS 48 for basic Flexible CallForwarding implementation. Box 80 is for indicating whether FlexibleCall Forwarding is ON or OFF. A check mark placed in box 80 activatesthe service upon pressing the Next button 87. Boxes 81 and 82 relate tothe priority screening list and the weekly schedule, respectively. Bychecking the boxes, the subscriber indicates a desire to activate therespective features (which previously have been built and/or edited).

[0265] Boxes 83 and 84 of FIG. 29 pertain to the automatic-off function,discussed above. The boxes 83 and 84 provide fields for the off date andtime, respectively, to stop forwarding calls placed to the subscribertelephone 25 once Flexible Call Forwarding has been activated, indictedat box 80. This OFF date and time is overridden by the weekly scheduleof FIGS. 25 and 27, so that the automatic-off function will notinterrupt the customized scheduling featured set up by the subscriber.

[0266] The web page of FIG. 29 also requests a voice response PIN at box85. This is the same PIN that the user uses to access Flexible CallForwarding by telephone, using IVR 45. In an embodiment, the PIN mayalso be used in lieu of a password to initially access the Flexible CallForwarding data over the web.

[0267]FIG. 29 also displays a forward-to-number box 86, which is thetelephone number to which incoming calls are forwarded. In anembodiment, this is limited to a ten-digit number, although alternativeembodiments may include additional digits to accommodate internationalcalls. Further, in the depicted embodiment of the invention, FlexibleCall Forwarding allows for one number to which the calls are forwardedany time the service is active, including activation through the weeklyscheduler. In alternative embodiments, the weekly scheduler includes aforward-to-number column in the weekly schedule table 60, so that thesubscriber can redirect incoming calls to alternative forwarding numbersat different days and times.

[0268] The instructions input by the subscriber in FIG. 29 are enteredwhen the subscriber selects the Next button 87, at which time they aresent from the web client 30 through the web server 56 to the SMS 48,indicated respectively at steps 2409 and 2410 of FIG. 24. The exemplaryweb page of FIG. 28 is then displayed at the web client 30.Substantially simultaneously with entry of these instructions, alongwith the weekly schedule and priority screening data, the SMS 48 updatesthe data stored at the SCP 23, according to the information entered bythe subscriber, for implementation at step 2412, accordingly. The datastored at the SMS 48 is therefore duplicated by the data stored at theSCP 23.

[0269] Referring to FIG. 30, the status table 90 presents a summary ofthe entered information, including the automatic-off date 83, theautomatic-off time 84, the PIN number 85 and the forwarding phone number86. In addition, entries 91-93 indicate the respective status of theservice and optional features. The Y in entry 91 indicates that theFlexible Call Forwarding service is on. The Ys in entries 92 and 93indicate that the priority screening list and the weekly scheduler areactive, respectively.

[0270] In alternative embodiments, Flexible Call Forwarding forwardstelephone calls to alternative numbers, depending on the priorityscreening list. For example, a calling party number on the priorityscreening list is forwarded to the current location of the subscriberand a calling party number not on the list is terminated at the originalcalled party number. Furthermore, an embodiment includes a rejectionscreening list for the subscriber to identify specific directory numbersfrom which he or she does not wish to accept as forwarded calls, ordirectory numbers that are forwarded to an alternative telephone numberor message center.

[0271]FIG. 31 shows an exemplary web page, entitled Call Status Screen,that displays summary information from a weekly schedule integrated witha priority screening list and a rejection screening list. The directorynumber 99 at the bottom of the screen is the telephone number of thesubscriber using the service. Boxes 94-98 display scheduling optionscreated and edited by the subscriber using the web client 30, asdescribed above. Each box includes ON and OFF icons, which can beselected after the particular schedule and associated screening listshave been created, using the web client 30 via the Internet 44 or theIVR 45 and/or SN/IP 57 via the PSTN.

[0272] Box 94 is the basic call forwarding function in which, whenactivated, all calls are forwarded to telephone number 312-555-1616. (Asshown, this number coincides with the subscriber's voice mail, which inan embodiment may be a call control option available through PCM,discussed below.) All calls continue to be forwarded to this numberuntil the subscriber deactivates this function, i.e., selects the OFFicon, or until the day and time set in the automatic-off function (notshown) is reached.

[0273] Box 95 of FIG. 31 is a summary of essentially the same type ofinformation shown in the exemplary Web page of FIG. 25. From the starttime of 7:00 a.m. to the stop time of 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,all calls are automatically forwarded to the previously identifieddirectory number, 312-555-1616, with no further action by the subscriber(other than activating box 95). Box 96 is similar to box 95, except thatbox 96 incorporates a priority screening list. Therefore, from 3:00 p.m.to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, the Flexible Call Forwarding service forwardsonly calls from the two numbers on the priority screening list, i.e.,601-555-5555 and 224-123-1234, to a priority forwarding number, i.e.,312-338-8353.

[0274] Box 97 shows an example of using a rejection screening list inconjunction with a priority screening list. Assuming that the subscriberdesires to return calls from those directory numbers on a secondpriority screening list, i.e., calls from 701-555-5555 and 123-444-4444,callers associated with the directory numbers on the second prioritylist will hear an announcement to that effect whenever they call thesubscriber's number while box 97 is activated. However, calls from thedirectory numbers on the rejection screening list, i.e., 608-555-8282and 312-555-9999, will hear an announcement instructing the caller toattempt the call at a later time.

[0275] Box 98 shows another embodiment of the invention in which theFlexible Call Forwarding service provides another priority screeninglist, referred to, for example, as the special forward list. This listmay be built by the subscriber using the web client 30 in the samemanner described with respect to the priority screening list. Oncecreated and implemented, i.e., activated by selecting the ON icon on theGUI of web client 30 or sending the appropriate touch tone or voiceinstruction over the IVR 45, calls from the special forward listdirectory numbers are sent to another optional telephone number (orplayed an alternative announcement) according to the subscriber'sinstructions.

[0276] Exemplary steps through which the subscriber can alternativelyinteract with Flexible Call Forwarding using the IVR 45 are shown inFIG. 32. As stated above, access through the IVR 45 is slightly limitedin that the subscriber cannot actually build or edit priority screeninglists and weekly schedules. However, the subscriber can access all otherfeatures of Flexible Call Forwarding, including changing the PIN,toggling the Flexible Call Forwarding service ON or OFF, setting theautomatic-off function day and time, and activating/deactivating thepriority screening list and weekly schedule.

[0277] Referring to FIG. 32, the subscriber calls a toll free numberfrom any DTMF telephone, which directly accesses the IVR 45, shown atstep 3220. FIG. 32 depicts, for example, the call originating from thesubscriber telephone 25. The IVR 45 receives the call and initiates arequest for various authentication information, including the accountand PIN numbers. These numbers coincide with the account and PIN numbersused to access the Flexible Call Forwarding service via the Internet 44.The pre-programmed voice announcements for this aspect of the inventionreside in the IVR 45, and implementation of the voice announcements iswell known. The authentication information is provided using the touchtones of the DTMF telephone 25. When the IVR 45 is included in the SN/IP57, which supports speech recognition functionality, the authenticationintervention may alternatively be provided by the subscriber speakingthe appropriate numbers into the subscriber telephone 25. When the SN/IP57 is programmed with speaker dependent software, the subscriber's voiceprint may be used for the authentication. The IVR 45 forwards theinformation to the SMS 48 at step 3222 for verification at step 3224, oralternatively notifies the SMS 48 of successful authentication.

[0278] After verification, the system operates in much the same way asdescribed above with respect to a GUI and the Internet. The SMS 48retrieves at step 3226 the current service data for the Flexible CallForwarding service, including current priority screening lists andschedules, and provides the IVR 45 with the call forwarding dataspecific to the subscriber at step 3228. The IVR 45 then verballyrecites a menu of options to the subscriber at step 3230 based on theinformation received from the SMS 48. For example, if the subscriber haspreviously built a priority screening list, activation of this list willbe included among the options provided to the user over the telephone.The subscriber listens to the options and inputs various choices at step3232 via the telephone touch tone key pad, including, for exampleturning on Flexible Call Forwarding or selecting and activating apredefined priority list or weekly schedule. The subscriber can also setthe automatic-off function date and time.

[0279] These commands are forwarded from the IVR 45 to the SMS 48 atstep 3234, which updates the Flexible Call Forwarding data contained inthe SCP 23 at step 3236. Once stored at the SCP 23, Flexible CallForwarding is set with respect to incoming calls in accordance with thecustomizing instructions from the subscriber.

[0280]FIG. 33 is a call flow diagram depicting an exemplaryimplementation of Flexible Call Forwarding in response to an incomingtelephone call. At step 3342, a calling party 20 places a call to thetelephone number of the subscriber telephone 25. The call proceedsthrough the originating SSP 21 (not pictured) to the terminating SSP 24,which launches an AIN Terminating Attempt Trigger (TAT) query to the SCP23 at step 3344. Once the trigger has been assigned and activated, everycall terminating to the subscriber's line will cause the SSP 24 tolaunch the TAT query via the existing SS7 network.

[0281] Step 3344 of FIG. 33 coincides with step s3404 of FIG. 34, whichis a flow diagram depicting the logical flow of handling an exemplarycall according to an embodiment of the invention. In particular, at steps3404, the SSP 24 sends a termination attempt query message to the SCP23. The data corresponding to the termination attempt query includesstandard AIN parameters, such as a called party identification numberand a calling party identification number.

[0282] After receiving the TAT query, the SCP 23 internally processesthe data at step 3346 of FIG. 33. The SCP 23 first determines at steps3406 of FIG. 34 whether the called party is a Flexible Call Forwardingsubscriber. The determination is accomplished by comparing the queryparameters from the SSP 24 to a list of subscribers in the SCP 23'sFlexible Call Forwarding database. If there is no match, the SCP 23concludes that the called party is not a Flexible Call Forwardingsubscriber and sends an authorize termination instruction to SSP 24,which terminates the call to the dialed telephone number, as indicatedat steps s3424 and s3430, ending the process at step s3432. In otherwords, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to simply complete the call asdialed with no further processing.

[0283] If the SCP 23 finds a match at step s3406, indicating that thecalled party is a subscriber to Flexible Call Forwarding, the processproceeds to step s3408, which determines whether the Flexible CallForwarding service is ON or OFF. The ON/OFF status is indicated by adata flag, for example. If the Flexible Call Forwarding service is OFF,the logic proceeds to steps s3424 and s3430, as described above. Thatis, the SCP 23 sends the authorize termination instruction to SSP 24,which terminates the call to the called party number. If Flexible CallForwarding service is ON, then the SCP 23 must determine which functionshave been activated by the subscriber.

[0284] At step s3410, the SCP 23 determines whether the scheduler is ONor OFF. The scheduler status is also indicated by a data flag, forexample. If the scheduler is OFF, the SCP 23 proceeds to step s3412,which represents the automatic-off function of Flexible Call Forwarding.As previously described, and as shown in FIG. 34, the automatic-offfunction is entirely bypassed whenever the scheduler is activated,thereby preventing conflicting instructions from the two features. Withrespect to the automatic-off function, the SCP 23 first determineswhether a time has been entered into the Data Counter field, whichindicates the time at which the subscriber wishes call forwarding to bediscontinued. If there is no time entered, the SCP 23 assumes that callforwarding is still active and proceeds to step s3418 to determinewhether the priority list is activated. If there is a time in the DataCounter field, which indicates the automatic shut-off time, the currenttime of day, provided by a timer of the SCP 23, is checked against theshut-off time at step s3414. If the current time is later than theshut-off time, the SCP 23 instructs SSP 24 to terminate the call to thecalled party number 25, at step s3424. Otherwise, the SCP 23 proceeds tostep s3418.

[0285] If it is determined at step s3410 that the scheduler is on, theSCP 23 accesses the scheduler table to execute call forwardingaccordingly. In an embodiment, the weekly scheduler includes a time ofday/day of week (“tod/dow”) table, which may have the multiple entries.As discussed above, at a minimum, the tod/dow table contains multiplesets of start times and end times, as well as fields for identifying thedays of the week for activation. The fields, for example, contain dataindicating which days of the week have been designated activationperiods. In an embodiment of the invention, the table also storestelephone numbers corresponding to the various activation periods ofFlexible Call Forwarding.

[0286] At step s3416, the SCP 23 determines whether the tod/dow table isfound and populated. If there is no such table or the table exists butis unpopulated, the SCP 23 proceeds to step s3424, where the call isterminated to the called telephone number 25. Otherwise, the SCP 23determines the forwarding instruction according to the current time, thetimes and days indicated by the tod/dow table and, in one embodiment,the forwarding telephone numbers. If the table indicates that thecurrent time falls within a period during which call forwarding is notactive, then the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to terminate the call tothe called party number.

[0287] Otherwise, the process proceeds to step s3418, where the SCP 23determines whether the priority screening list feature is ON or OFF. Ifthe list feature is off, the SCP 23 simply instructs the SSP 24 toforward the telephone call to the designated forwarding number 36, atstep s3422. If the list feature is on, the calling party number 20 isused to determine whether the caller is on the priority screening list,indicated at step s3420. The list accommodates multiple entries forpriority calls (e.g., 75, in one embodiment) and is populated withtelephone numbers associated with whomever the subscriber has previouslyidentified as a priority caller. When the priority screening listfeature is on and the calling party number 20 does not appear on thatlist, the SCP 23 instructs SSP 24 to terminate the call to the calledparty number 25, at step s3424. Otherwise, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP24 to forward the call to the designated forwarding phone number 36,indicated at step s3422. The call is then routed accordingly at steps3430, ending the process at step s3432.

[0288] Referring back to FIG. 33, in order to instruct the SSP 24 toforward a call, the SCP 23 sends a forward call message to the SSP 24 atstep 3348. In an embodiment of the invention, the forward call messagesent by the SCP 23 to SSP 24 includes standard AIN parameters. The SSP24 then completes the connection between the calling party 20 and theforwarding number 36 at step 3350, resulting in a final connectionbetween the two. In the alternative, if the SSP 24 is instructed toterminate the call to the called party number 25, the SCP 23 sends theauthorize termination message, previously discussed, to the SSP 24 atstep 3352. The SSP 24 then completes the connection between the callingparty 20 and the subscriber telephone 25 (i.e., called party number) atstep 3354, resulting in a final connection between the two.

[0289] System errors that occur while processing a call under FlexibleCall Forwarding generally result in the call being terminated to thesubscriber's line 25. For example, if the SSP 24 does not receive aresponse to the termination attempt query from the SCP 23 within apredetermined time, e.g., 3 seconds, the call is terminated to thesubscriber's line 25. Other errors resulting in termination to thesubscriber's line 25 include the SSP 24 receiving any report of anapplication error after sending a termination attempt query and the SSP24 detecting a protocol or application error in an authorize terminationmessage from the SCP 23.

[0290] Intelligent Call Forwarding

[0291] An additional embodiment of the present invention will bereferred to as Intelligent Call Forwarding. Intelligent Call Forwardingis an AIN based call control service that is closely related to FlexibleCall Forwarding and provides complementary features. Flexible CallForwarding is implemented to forward telephone calls to at least onepre-designated number whenever the subscriber anticipates not beingavailable at the subscriber telephone 25, but Flexible Call Forwardingdoes not provide call processing whenever the caller encounters a busysignal at the subscriber's line. The inability to forward calls isparticularly problematic when the subscriber is connected to theInternet via the telephone line to which incoming calls are attemptingto connect. Conventionally, the calling party simply receives a busysignal (or is sent to a message mailbox) and the subscriber has nonotice of the incoming call.

[0292] An embodiment of the invention addresses two related services.One of the services is referred to as Intelligent Call Forwarding, whichenables the subscriber connected to the Internet to direct incomingcalls to alternative telephone numbers, including numbers that playannouncements or accept messages, without interrupting the Internetsession. For example, the announcements may include a message informingthe calling party that the party they are trying to reach is busy andthat the caller should call back later, or a message informing thecalling party that the party they are trying to reach is busy and willcall them back later. Intelligent Call Forwarding includes severaloptional features similar to Flexible Call Forwarding that thesubscriber may customize. Among these features are a weekly scheduler,which allows the subscriber to schedule up to a week in advanceactivation and deactivation times, as well as associated forwardingphone numbers. Another feature is a priority screening list, in whichthe subscriber designates priority names and telephone numbers. Relatedto the priority screening feature is a screening rejection list feature,which terminates an incoming call to the called number or forwards therejected call to a pre-designated number having an appropriateannouncement (switch-based, or otherwise).

[0293] As in the case of the call monitoring and Flexible CallForwarding services, discussed above, the subscriber can access andmodify the Intelligent Call Forwarding service status via two methods.First, from any telephone, the subscriber dials a toll-free number,e.g., an 800 number, to access the IVR 45 and/or the SN/IP 57. Thesubscriber is prompted to enter an account number, along with a PIN,further discussed below. The subscriber then has the ability to changethe PIN, change the forwarding numbers, toggle the service ON/OFF,specify a day and time when the service will be deactivated and activateor deactivate the priority screening list, the rejected call list andthe weekly schedule. Second, the subscriber has the option to access theIntelligent Call Forwarding service using a GUI via the Internet. Overthe web connection, the subscriber is able to implement all IVRfunctions, as well as build the screening lists and design weeklyschedules. The Intelligent Call Forwarding service, when active,automatically takes effect whenever the subscriber accesses the Internetfrom a telephone number included in the service.

[0294] The other service for responding to busy signals on thesubscriber's phone line is Internet Caller ID (ICID). Like IntelligentCall Forwarding, ICID enables the subscriber connected to the Internetvia a dial-up connection to contemporaneously receive calleridentification information concerning an incoming telephone call,without interrupting the connection with the Internet. The callerinformation is provided in a pop-up dialog box on the subscriber'sdisplay, which includes but is not limited to, a PC monitor. Theinformation displayed to the subscriber includes the name and number ofthe calling party, if available. In addition, several dispositionoptions are presented to the subscriber which, upon selection, determinehandling of the incoming call.

[0295] In an embodiment, the disposition options available to thesubscriber include accepting the call, forwarding the call to a voicemail system, redirecting the call to another telephone line (e.g., acellular telephone or a second telephone line), and playing anannouncement to the calling party. The announcement played to thecalling party is selected by the subscriber and may be either a messageinforming the calling party that the party they are trying to reach isbusy and that the caller should call back later, or a message informingthe calling party that the party they are trying to reach is busy andwill call them back later. Additionally, the subscriber has the optionin all of the service described herein of selecting the language inwhich the messages plays, e.g., English or Spanish.

[0296]FIG. 23 illustrates an exemplary telecommunications network, forimplementing the Intelligent Call Forwarding aspects of the invention.As in the case of Flexible Call Forwarding, the subscriber is able toaccess to the Intelligent Call Forwarding service by GUI via theInternet 44 and by telephone via an IVR 45 or SN/IP 57, through a commonSMS 48.

[0297]FIG. 35 illustrates an exemplary telecommunications network of thepresent invention, including ICID, in an alternative embodiment of theinvention. As in FIG. 23, the network of FIG. 35 includes a callingparty 20, an originating SSP 21, a terminating SSP 24, a subscribertelephone 25, an SMS 48, an STP 22 and an SCP 23, examples of which havebeen previously described. The network also includes a local numberportability (LNP) database 55, a registration server (RS) 56, aheartbeat server 58 and an Internet Call Waiting (ICW) server 61. Anassociated data network of the invention includes a web client 30 and aweb server 54, connectable through the Internet 44. The web client 30includes a PC 32 operating client software 34.

[0298] Generally, Intelligent Call Forwarding enables a subscriber todirect incoming calls to alternative telephone numbers, both when thesubscriber telephone 25 is busy or not busy. In an embodiment,Intelligent Call Forwarding further includes several optional featuresthat the subscriber customizes. Among these features is a weeklyscheduler, which enables the subscriber to construct a weekly scheduleof multiple times for activating and deactivating Intelligent CallForwarding, as well as any features associated with Intelligent CallForwarding. For example, the scheduler indicates the times at which thepriority screening list and screening rejection list are ON/OFF, whichtimes do not necessarily correspond to the Intelligent Call Forwardingservice activation. The scheduler also designates the telephone numbersto which calls are to be forwarded corresponding to the various servicesand their various ON/OFF times. The scheduler is implemented through atod/dow table, which is stored at the SCP 23 and accessible by thesubscriber via the Internet 44.

[0299] The priority screening list is available for use at thesubscriber's option. The list contains the names and telephone numbersof priority callers, as designated by the subscriber. In an embodiment,if the priority screening list has been activated, the SCP 23 will onlyprocess calls originating from phone numbers included in the list. Allother calls are terminated at the subscriber telephone 25. Theprocessing includes either sending a message to the subscriber engagedin the Internet session, notifying the subscriber of the prioritycaller, or forwarding the priority callers to a priority, alternativetelephone number, where they hear a voice announcement and are providedthe option to leave a message. The priority screening list isimplemented through a screening table, which is stored at the SCP 23 andaccessible by the subscriber via the Internet, as discussed in detailbelow.

[0300] Similarly, the rejection screening list is available for use atthe subscriber's option. This list contains the names and telephonenumbers of callers from which the subscriber does not want to acceptcalls. If a number is on the rejection screening list, and the list isactive, then the call is terminated at the subscriber telephone 25, orit is terminated to a directory number specifically reserved to respondto rejection screening list callers. In an embodiment, this alternativenumber provides a voice announcement and an option for the screenedcaller to leave a message. As in the case of the priority screening listfeature, the rejection screening list is implemented through a rejectionscreening table, which is stored at the SCP 23 and accessible for updateby the subscriber via the Internet 44 and the Web server 54.

[0301] A subscriber's exemplary interaction with Intelligent CallForwarding is depicted in the call flow diagram of FIG. 36. As with theFlexible Call Forwarding service, the subscriber is able to access theIntelligent Call Forwarding service via the Internet or IVR 45, therebygreatly increasing flexibility and convenience. FIG. 36 depictsinteraction with Intelligent Call Forwarding over the Internet, using aGUI, which includes the more complicated procedures for customizing theservice, such as building the screening lists and weekly schedules. Inthe Internet interface, the subscriber accesses a unique URL associatedwith the service provider to obtain the web screens of Intelligent CallForwarding, provided by the SMS 48. In an embodiment, an alternativemanner for accessing the Intelligent Call Forwarding data via theInternet is through the PCM service, described above.

[0302] As shown at step 3602 of FIG. 36, in order to access IntelligentCall Forwarding, the subscriber must log-on to the web server 54 fromthe web client 30 through the Internet 44. This step incorporates use ofany compatible web browser, discussed above. Once on the Internet 44,the subscriber connects to the web server 54, which receives HTTPmessages from the subscriber web client 30 and provides HTML web pagesin response to the subscriber's input. The web pages relate to thesubscriber's Intelligent Call Forwarding service.

[0303] Once connected to the web server 54, the user must provideauthentication information to access the corresponding account, throughthe web server 54 at step 3603. The SMS 48 performs the authentication.After receiving the account number and associated PIN from thesubscriber via the web server 54, the SMS 48 retrieves theauthentication data at step 3604 to confirm that the subscriber is anauthorized user.

[0304] After successful authentication, the SMS 48 retrieves at step3606 the current service data for Intelligent Call Forwarding, includingcurrent screening lists and weekly schedules. The SMS 48 transmits theinformation, along with a list of additional services and phone numbers,if any, corresponding to the subscriber, to the web server 54 at step3607. The web server 54 forwards the information to the web client 30 atstep 3608, via the Internet 44. The subscriber is presented with anumber of options for each telephone number in the account. For example,the subscriber can change the PIN, enter the forwarding directorynumber, toggle the Intelligent Call Forwarding service ON or OFF, andactivate or deactivate the priority screening list, the rejectionscreening list and the weekly schedule. In addition, the subscriber canbuild or edit the priority screening lists and weekly schedules. Oncethe changes have been entered by the subscriber and forwarded to the webserver 54 at step 3610, the web server 54 forwards the updated data tothe SMS 48 at step 3611. The SMS 48 stores the data and also updates theSCP 23 at step 3612 for implementation.

[0305] The web pages and associated prompts for input by the subscriberare similar to those shown in FIGS. 25-31 in reference to Flexible CallForwarding. In addition, FIG. 37 depicts an exemplary web page relatedto the rejection screening list (which may also be included in theFlexible Call Forwarding service). The web page is displayed on themonitor of PC 32 at the web client 30 and includes the subscriber'stelephone number 350, which in this example is 847-555-1111. Thesubscriber may enter the telephone numbers of calls to be accepted andrejected by building the priority and rejection screening lists,respectively. Box 340 of FIG. 37 shows various directory numbers thatthe subscriber has identified for special treatment. It also containsthe ALL calling numbers options, which when selected by the subscriber,causes the Intelligent Call Forwarding service to process all incomingcalls to the subscriber's phone number 350 the same.

[0306] In this example, the calling numbers on the subscriber's priorityscreening list are indicated by a single asterisk and calling numbers onthe rejection screening list are indicted by double asterisks. In anembodiment of the invention, the calling numbers on the screening listscan be highlighted in different colors, for example, to aid thesubscriber in visually distinguishing priority calling number fromrejection calling numbers. The subscriber can then select theannouncement to be played for each screening list. In this example,announcement 342, i.e., “I'll call you back later,” is played inresponse to calling numbers on the priority screening list andannouncement 344, i.e., “Call me back later,” is played in response tocalling numbers on the rejection screening list. The ON/OFF icons 346and 348 activate and deactivate the announcements 342 and 344,respectively. As in all embodiments of the invention, the activation anddeactivation may be accomplished by the GUI at web client 30 via theInternet or by DTMF touch tones or voice interaction through a telephonein conjunction with the IVR 45 via the PSTN.

[0307] Of course, numerous other options are available to thesubscriber, such as message playback language. The “S” and “E”indicators show that the message will be played in Spanish and English,respectively. Other languages are of course possible. Moreover, thesubscriber may elect to be notified at the web client 30 of calls fromnumbers on the priority screening list during the Internet session,while calls from numbers on the rejection screening list are notnotified to the subscriber. Instead, the rejected calls may hear a busysignal or may be forwarded to a number or prerecorded message reservedfor rejected calls. The exemplary web page of FIG. 31 also depicts atypical summary screen of the Intelligent Call Forwarding service.

[0308] The subscriber can alternatively interact with Intelligent CallForwarding using the IVR 45, exemplary steps of which are shown in FIG.38. Access through the IVR 45 is slightly limited in that the subscribercannot actually build or edit screening lists and weekly schedules, inan embodiment of the invention. However, the subscriber can access allother features of Intelligent Call Forwarding, including changing thePIN, toggling the service ON or OFF, and activating/deactivating thepriority screening list, the rejection screening list and the weeklyschedule.

[0309] Referring to FIG. 38, the subscriber calls a toll free numberfrom any telephone, which directly accesses the IVR 45 (or the SN/IP 57,if applicable), shown at step 3820. FIG. 38 depicts, as an example, thecall originating from the subscriber telephone 25. The IVR 45 receivesthe call and initiates a request for various authentication information,including the account and PIN number. These numbers coincide with theaccount and PIN numbers used to access the Flexible Call Forwardingservice via the Internet 44. The pre-programmed voice announcements forthis aspect of the invention reside in the IVR 45, and implementation ofthe voice announcements is well known. The authentication information isprovided using touch tones from the key pad of the subscriber telephone25 or, when speech recognition functionality is available, speaking tothe receiver of the subscriber telephone 25. The IVR 45 forwards theinformation to the SMS 48 at step 3822, which in turn verifies theauthorization at step 3824. In an alternative embodiment involvingspeaker dependent speech recognition, the authentication may includeidentifying the subscriber's voice print at the IVR 45 (or SN/IP 57).

[0310] After verification, the system operates in much the same way asdescribed above with respect to a GUI and the Internet. Specifically,the SMS 48 retrieves account information, including the status ofIntelligent Call Forwarding service, at step 3826. At step 3828, the SMS48 provides the account information to the IVR 45, which verbally recitea menu of options to the subscriber at step 3830 based on theinformation received from the SMS 48. For example, if the subscriber haspreviously built a priority screening list, activation of this list willbe included among the options provided to the user over the telephone.The subscriber listens to the options and inputs various choices at step3832 by depressing the touch tone keys or speaking into the telephonereceiver. The choices may include, for example, turning on IntelligentCall Forwarding or selecting and activating a predefined priorityscreening list, rejection screening list or weekly schedule. Thesubscriber can also set the automatic-off function date and time.

[0311] The commands are forwarded from the IVR 45 to the SMS 48 at step3834. The SMS 48 then updates the Intelligent Call Forwarding datacontained in the SCP 23 at step 3836. Once the data is stored at the SCP23, the Intelligent Call Forwarding service is set with respect toincoming calls, in accordance with the customizing instructions from thesubscriber.

[0312] Once Intelligent Call Forwarding is customized and activated, itis implemented in much the same way as ICID, as described below. In anembodiment of the invention, a TAT is assigned to the subscriber'sdirectory number or line, depending upon the type of switch. Once thetrigger has been assigned and activated, every terminating call to thesubscriber telephone 25 will cause the terminating SSP 24 to suspend thecall and send an AIN query message, via the existing SS7 network and theappropriate STP 22, to the subscriber's serving SCP 23 for instructions.The SCP 23 stores a call processing record for each subscriber andrequests information from the other network elements. In particular, theSCP 23 receives the TAT query from the SSP 24 and responds to the SSP 24with routing instructions for calls to subscribers.

[0313] In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 35, the RS 56 receivesregistration requests from the client software 34 when the subscriberlogs on to the Internet 44 and activates the service. The RS 56 storesinformation related to the subscriber's on-line Internet status. The RS56 is the first database accessed by the SCP 23 during the processing ofan Intelligent Call Forwarding or an ICID call. Based upon theinformation provided in a GetData query, the RS 56 returns a responsecontaining information associated with requested data elements to theSCP 23. For example, the RS 56 responds to the GetData query from theSCP 23 with information about the subscriber's Internet session status.Alternatively, the SCP 23 itself can determine the subscriber's on-lineInternet status.

[0314] A GetData query, sent via TCP/IP, includes an identifier, aservice key, and a data element. The identifier indicates that the queryis a GetData query, the service key contains an indication of thesubscriber for which information is requested and, optionally, securityinformation. The data element is the calling party's name beingretrieved.

[0315] Additionally, the SCP 23 uses the name database 50 database toretrieve calling party name information associated with the callingparty's telephone number for transmission to the subscriber. Theinterface between the name database 50 and the SCP 23 may be theBellcore GetData query provided over the SS7 network. With thisinterface, the SCP 23 can receive data from the name database 50. Tosupport the GetData query, the SCP 23 accesses the name database 50 withthe directory number of the calling party in order to obtain the callingparty name. Detailed information about the GetData interface may beobtained in Bellcore GR-2838-CORE, Generic Requirements for GetData, thedisclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety. Alternatively, depending on the capabilities of the SCP 23,the calling party name can be stored and retrieved at the SCP 23 withoutan external database.

[0316] If it is determined that the subscriber is on-line, the SCP 23queries the LNP database 55, in a known manner, to determine if thecalling party number received in the TAT query has been ported. Thetelephone number received in a response from the LNP database 55 is usedto determine the calling party name, when it is available.

[0317] In this embodiment of the invention, the ICW server 61 is thecommunications interface between the SCP 23 and the client software 34at the web client 30. Specifically, the ICW server 61 receivesinformation related to incoming calls from the SCP 23 and passes thisinformation directly to the subscriber via TCP/IP utilizing the Internet44. Further, the ICW server 61 passes de-registration requests from theclient software 34 to a heartbeat server 58.

[0318] Additionally, the SCP 23 provides the ICW server 61 with theclient software version number running on the subscriber's PC 32.Subsequently, the ICW server 61 determines if the subscriber has thelatest version of the client software. If the ICW server 61 determinesthat the subscriber does not have the latest version of the clientsoftware, it notifies the subscriber that they need to update theirclient software. This notification is given when the ICW server 61passes the caller identification information to the subscriber.

[0319] During the course of an active Internet session with theIntelligent Call Forwarding or the ICID service turned on, the clientsoftware 34 periodically transmits heartbeat messages via the Internet44 utilizing TCP/IP to the heartbeat server 58, in one embodiment of theinvention. In response, the heartbeat server 58 updates the RS 56 viaTCP/IP with the subscriber's on-line status, and notifies the RS 56 insituations where there is an interruption of heartbeat messages from theclient software 34, indicating a possible undesired disconnection of theInternet session. Additionally, if the subscriber currently connected tothe Internet 44 elects to accept an incoming telephone call (as will bediscussed later), the client software 34 sends a de-registrationrequest, which is passed to the heartbeat server 58.

[0320] After the RS 56 receives a registration request from the clientsoftware 34, the RS 56 sends a heartbeat setup message to the heartbeatserver 58 via TCP/IP to alert it to expect to receive heartbeat messagesfrom the client. As a result, the heartbeat server 58 begins to receivekeep-alive messages from the client after the registration is completed.If the client sends a keep-alive message that does not match theinformation in the heartbeat server 58 memory, then the heartbeat server58 sends a registration database query to the RS 56 via TCP/IP. If thequery results match the data received, the copy in memory is updated. Ifthe results of the query do not match, the heartbeat server 58 opens aTCP/IP session to send a message instructing the client to re-registerwith the RS 56.

[0321] The interface between the SCP 23 and the RS 56 and between theSCP 23 and the ICW server 61 is, for example, the Bellcore GDI forTCP/IP. This interface provides the capability to send/receivetransactions to and from external systems over TCP/IP using TransactionCapabilities Application Part (TCAP) messages. The SCP 23 can get data,send data, or invoke an application (InvokeApp) from a database such asthe RS 56 or ICW server 61. More information may be obtained fromBellcore SR-3389, SCP Generic Data, Interface Specification for TCP/IP,Version 5.0, Issue 2, January 1997, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

[0322] The client software 34 is the subscriber interface for theIntelligent Call Forwarding and the ICID services. As discussed above,the client software 34 permits the subscriber to turn the services ONand OFF, choose preset options, and select call disposition options. AnInvokeApp message is used to invoke the applications on the ICW server61 and to return the subscriber's selected disposition options.Additionally, the client software 34 provides a visual and audible alertto the subscriber of an incoming telephone call, sends Internetregistration and de-registration requests, sends the subscriber's optionselection to the ICW server 61, and sends heartbeat messages to theheartbeat server 58. An InvokeApp message, sent via TCP/IP, may includestandard AIN parameters, well known in the art.

[0323] The exemplary telecommunications network depicted in FIG. 35handles incoming calls according to various options invoked by thesubscriber, as depicted in exemplary call flow diagrams of FIGS. 39-46.FIG. 39 is a call flow diagram in which neither the Intelligent CallForwarding nor the ICID service has been turned on, or in which noactive Internet session exists, although in an embodiment, theIntelligent Call Forwarding service can be active even when there is noactive Internet session. At step 3901, a telephone call is placed to thesubscriber. A TAT in the terminating SSP 24 causes the call to besuspended at the SSP 24. The trigger also causes the SSP 24 to transmitan AIN query message including the calling party number (if available)and called party number via the SS7 network and the appropriate STP 22to the subscriber's serving SCP 23 at step 3902. At step 3903, the SCP23 sends a GetData query to the RS 56 with the called party's telephonenumber to request the on-line status of the subscriber. At step 3904,the SCP 23 sets a timer equal to a predetermined time, e.g., 2 seconds.In the event that the RS 56 does not respond within the predeterminedtime (indicating a timeout condition) or responds with an error, the SCP23 sends an authorize termination response to the SSP 24. As a result,the SSP 24 terminates the suspended telephone call at the subscriber'sline and the call may encounter features programmed on the line, e.g.,call waiting.

[0324] If it is determined at the RS 56 that the subscriber is notcurrently on-line or has the services turned off, the RS 56 respondswith a “0” at step 3905. The SCP 23 then sends an authorize terminationresponse to the SSP 24 at step 3906, which terminates the call to thesubscriber's telephone line at step 3907. As a result, a connection ismade between the calling party and the subscriber. As the call attemptsto terminate, it encounters any features programmed on the subscriber'stelephone line, e.g., call waiting.

[0325]FIG. 40 is a call flow diagram in which the subscriber elects toaccept the incoming telephone call. The telephone call is placed by thecalling party 20 and handled according to steps 4001-4004, describedabove. If the subscriber is on-line and the Intelligent Call Forwardingor the ICID service is active, the RS 56 responds with a “1” at step4005. The RS 56 also responds with the IP address, port number andsubscriber key information for the subscriber's Internet session.

[0326] At step 4026, a check is performed at the SCP 23 to confirm thatthe subscriber has voice mail service. Also, the SCP 23 determineswhether the presentation restriction value is restricted or unavailable.If the presentation restriction value is restricted and the called partysubscribes to the Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR) service, an authorizetermination response is sent to the SSP 24 allowing the call to berejected. ACR prevents calls to subscribers when a calling party blockstheir number.

[0327] If the calling party number is delivered with the query and thepresentation restriction indicator for the incoming call is allowed, theSCP 23 launches a query to the local number portability database 55 todetermine whether the received calling party number is ported. Thetelephone number returned in the response is either equal to the callingparty number sent in the query if the telephone number is not ported orthe local routing number if the telephone number is ported. Thetelephone number from the response is used as the calling party numberand checked against entries in a table to determine if the NPA-NXXbelongs to a participating local exchange carrier (LEC). A participatingLEC is one that provides data from its LIDB, or allows access to itsLIDB.

[0328] If the calling party number is found to be a participating LEC, aGetData query is launched to the name database 50 at step 4027 toretrieve the calling party's name. If the calling party number was notdelivered with the query, or there is no participating LEC, or thepresentation restriction indicator for the incoming call is anonymous orunavailable, the SCP 23 will not launch a GetData query to the namedatabase 50 to retrieve the calling party's name. In this event, thecalling party name is null in the InvokeApp query to the ICW server 61.If available, the calling party's name is sent to the SCP 23 from thename database 50 at step 4028.

[0329] At step 4029, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to play a “pleasehold” announcement to the calling party to request the calling party tohold the line (step 4030). At step 4031, the SCP 23 sends an InvokeApprequest to the ICW server 61. The request contains the called partynumber, the calling party number (if available and not presentationrestricted), the calling party name (if available and not presentationrestricted), an associated IP address, the port number, the clientsoftware version, and an indicator as to whether or not the subscriberhas voice mail service.

[0330] At step 4032, the SCP 23 sets a timer equal to a predeterminedtime, e.g., 25 seconds. In the event that the ICW server 61 does notrespond within the predetermined time (indicating a timeout condition)or responds with an error, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to stopplaying the “please hold” announcement to the caller. Then, the SSP 24begins playing an announcement to the caller or forwarding the call inaccordance with the Intelligent Call Forwarding instructions. When voicemail is available, the message informs the caller that the call is beingforwarded to a voice mail service. Lastly, the SCP 23 sends an authorizetermination response to the SSP 24. If the subscriber does not havevoice mail service, an error is reported and the SCP 23 sends anauthorize termination response to the SSP 23. As a result, the SSP 23terminates the suspended telephone call to the subscriber's telephoneline and the call encounters any other features programmed on the line.

[0331] If no timeout occurs, at step 4033 the ICW server 61 sends amessage via the Internet 44 to the subscriber, which appears on thesubscriber's display at Web client 30, informing the subscriber of theincoming call and presenting the subscriber with disposition options forthe call. The message displayed may be a pop-up dialog box.

[0332] At step 4034, the subscriber elects to accept the telephone call,and as a result, the client software 34 responds to the ICW server 61with option 1 and will send a de-registration message to the RS 56, andbegin to terminate the subscriber's Internet session. The ICW server 61passes the subscriber's option 1 selection to the SCP 23 at step 4035.At step 4036, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to stop playing the“please hold” announcement to the caller. At step 4037, the “pleasehold” announcement is terminated by the SSP 24 and at step 4038, the SSP24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23 confirming that themessage is no longer playing. At step 4039, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP24 to begin playing a “will take your call” announcement to the caller(step 4040). At step 4041, the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message tothe SCP 23. At the conclusion of the “will take your call” announcement,the SCP 23 sends an authorize termination response to the SSP 24 whichterminates the suspended call to the subscriber's telephone line (steps4042-4043). That is, the calling party 20 is connected to the subscribertelephone 25.

[0333]FIG. 41 is a call flow diagram in which the subscriber is on-lineand elects to forward an incoming telephone call to voice mail service.The telephone call placed to the subscriber is processed at steps4101-4133 in the same manner indicated by steps 4001-4033, discussedabove. In response to the query from the ICW server 61 (at step 4133),the subscriber elects option 2 at step 4174 to send the incomingtelephone call to voice mail service. As a result, the client software34 responds to the ICW server 61 and will not terminate the subscriber'sInternet session.

[0334] The ICW server 61 passes the subscriber's option 2 selection tothe SCP 23 at step 4175. At step 4176, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24to stop playing the “please hold” announcement to the caller. At step4177, the “please hold” announcement is terminated by the SSP 24 and atstep 4178, the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23confirming that the message is no longer playing. At step 4179, the SCP40 instructs the SSP 24 to begin playing a “forwarding to voice mailservice” announcement to the caller (step 4180). At step 4181, the SSP24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23.

[0335] At the conclusion of the “forwarding to voice mail service”announcement, the SCP 23 sends an authorize termination response to theSSP 24 which terminates the suspended call to the subscriber's busytelephone line (steps 4182-4183). As the call attempts to terminate atthe subscriber's line, the call encounters programming associated withvoice mail service and the call is forwarded accordingly. Ultimately,the calling party is connected with the subscriber's voice mail box andhas the option of leaving a message.

[0336]FIG. 42 is a call flow diagram in which the subscriber is on-lineand elects to send an incoming telephone call to an announcement. Thetelephone call placed to the subscriber is processed at steps 4201-4233in the same manner indicated by steps 4001-4033, discussed above. Inresponse to the query from the ICW server 61, the subscriber elects tosend the telephone call to an announcement at step 4234. As a result,the client software 34 responds to the ICW server 61 with theannouncement selection number, which includes two choices. The firstmessage that may be played advises the caller that the subscriber isbusy and that the caller should call back later. The second optionadvises the caller that the subscriber is busy and that the subscriberwill return the call to the caller at a later time.

[0337] The ICW server 61 passes the subscriber's selection to the SCP 23at step 4235. At step 4236, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to stopplaying the “please hold” announcement to the caller. At step 4237, the“please hold” announcement is terminated by the SSP 24 and at step 4238,the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23 confirming thatthe message is no longer playing. At step 4239, the SCP 23 instructs theSSP 24 to begin playing the selected announcement (step 4240). At step4241, the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23. At theconclusion of the selected announcement, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24to disconnect the call at step 4242.

[0338]FIG. 43 is a call flow diagram in which the subscriber is on-lineand elects to forward an incoming telephone call to another telephoneline. The telephone call placed to the subscriber is processed at steps4301-4333 in the same manner indicated by steps 4001-4033, discussedabove. In response to the query from the ICW server 61, the subscriberelects option 3 to redirect the call to another telephone number at step4334. As a result, the client software 34 responds to the ICW server 61with option 3 and a ten digit “forward to” telephone number as selectedby the subscriber. The ICW server 61 passes the subscriber's option 3selection and the selected ten digit “forward to” telephone number tothe SCP 23 at step 4335.

[0339] At step 4336, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to stop playing the“please hold” announcement to the caller. At step 4337, the “pleasehold” announcement is terminated by the SSP 24 and at step 4338 the SSP24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23 confirming that themessage is no longer playing. At step 4339, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP24 to begin playing a “forwarding to another number” announcement to thecaller (step 4340). At step 4341, the SSP 24 sends a resource clearmessage to the SCP 23. At the conclusion of the “forwarding to anothernumber” announcement, the SCP 23 sends a Forward Call response to theSSP 24 which initiates the process of forwarding the call to thespecified telephone number (step 4342). Ultimately, the calling party isconnected to the forwarded number through the SSP 24.

[0340] In FIGS. 41-43, if the subscriber does not respond to the queryfrom ICW server 61, or if the RS 56 indicates that the subscriber is nolonger on-line, the SCP 23 processes the incoming call in accordancewith the subscriber's previously built and stored call forwarding data.In one embodiment of the invention, the subscriber can specificallychoose to instruct the SCP 23 to process the call in accordance withpreviously built and stored call forwarding data, in response to thequery from ICW server 61. Processing calls in accordance with previouslybuilt and stored call forwarding data is discussed in detail in regardto FIGS. 47-49, below.

[0341]FIG. 44 is a call flow diagram in which the caller abandons atelephone call after a response from the ICW server 61. The telephonecall placed to the subscriber is processed at steps 4401-4433 in thesame manner indicated by steps 4001-4033, discussed above. In responseto the query from the ICW server 61, the subscriber elects a calldisposition option described herein in order to control the incomingtelephone call. As a result, the client software 34 responds to the ICWserver 61 with the option at step 4434. The ICW server 61 passes thesubscriber's option selection to the SCP 23 at step 4435.

[0342] At step 4436, the caller abandons the telephone call by hangingup, in which case the SSP 24 stops playing the “please hold”announcement to the caller at step 4437 and at step 4438, the SSP 24sends resource clear message to the SCP 23 due the abandonment of thetelephone call by the caller. At step 4439, the SCP 23 terminates callprocessing record (CPR) processing.

[0343]FIG. 45 is a call flow diagram in which the caller abandons thetelephone call before a response from the ICW server 61 is received. Thetelephone call placed to the subscriber is processed at steps 4501-4533in the same manner indicated by steps 4001-4033, discussed above. Inresponse to the query from the ICW server 61, the subscriber elects acall disposition option to control the call at step 4534. As a result,the client software 34 responds to the ICW server 61 with the selectedoption. At step 4535, the caller abandons the telephone call by hangingup, in which case the SSP 24 stops playing the “please hold”announcement to the caller at step 4536 and at step 4537, the SSP 20sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23 due the abandonment of thetelephone call by the caller. At step 4538, the SCP 23 terminates CPRprocessing, ignoring any responses from the ICW server 61 related tothis disconnected call at step 4539.

[0344] In an alternative embodiment of the invention, as depicted inFIG. 23, a service node (e.g., the SN/IP 57) essentially replaces thecombination of the ICW server 61, the RS 56 and the heartbeat server 58.In particular, whenever the subscriber connects to the Internet 44, theSN/IP 57 is automatically notified of the on-line status. The SN/IP 57contemporaneously forwards the subscriber's on-line status to the SCP23, regardless of whether a call to the subscriber's number is beingprocessed. The SCP 23 stores the on-line status data in conjunction withthe other data related to the subscriber. The data is stored as a YESindication in the subscriber Internet provider (SIP) field. Likewise,when the subscriber exits the Internet session, the SN/IP 57 is notifiedthat the subscriber is no longer on-line. The SN/IP 57 likewisetransmits this information to the SCP 23, which changes the SIPindication to NO. Therefore, when a telephone call to the subscribertelephone 25 is processed according to the embodiment depicted in FIG.23, the SCP 23 determines the on-line status without having to query anexternal server.

[0345]FIG. 46 is a call flow diagram depicting the process by which thesubscriber elects to accept the incoming telephone call, according tothe embodiment of FIG. 23. At step 4601, a telephone call is placed bythe calling party 20 to the subscriber telephone 25. A TAT in theterminating SSP 24 causes the call to be suspended at the SSP 24. Thetrigger also causes the SSP 24 to transmit an AIN query messageincluding the calling party number (if available) and called partynumber via the SS7 network and the appropriate STP 22 to thesubscriber's serving SCP 23 at step 4602. At step 4603, a check isperformed at the SCP 23 to confirm that the subscriber has voice mailservice. Also, the SCP 23 determines whether the presentationrestriction value is restricted or unavailable. If the presentationrestriction value is restricted and the called party subscribes to theACR service, an authorize termination response is sent to the SSP 24allowing the call to be rejected. ACR prevents calls to subscribers whena calling party blocks their number.

[0346] If the calling party number is delivered with the query and thepresentation restriction indicator for the incoming call is allowed, theSCP 23 launches a query to an LNP database (not pictured), for example,to determine whether the received calling party number is ported. Thetelephone number returned in the response is either equal to the callingparty number sent in the query if the telephone number is not ported orthe local routing number if the telephone number is ported. Thetelephone number from the response is used as the calling party numberand checked against entries in a table to determine if the NPA-NXXbelongs to a participating LEC.

[0347] If the calling party number is found to be a participating LEC, aquery is launched to the name database 50 at step 4604 to retrieve thecalling party's name. The name database 50 can be, for example, anexternal LIDB or a local real-time database servicing the SCP 23. If thecalling party number was not delivered with the query, or there is noparticipating LEC, or the presentation restriction indicator for theincoming call is anonymous or unavailable, the SCP 23 will not launchthe query to the name database 50 and the SSP 24 terminates thesuspended telephone call at the subscriber's line. If available, thecalling party's name is sent to the SCP 23 from the name database 50 atstep 4605.

[0348] At step 4606, the SCP 23 determines the on-line status of thesubscriber. As discussed above, this information is previously providedby the SN/IP 57 to the SCP 23. Therefore, the SCP 23 simply retrievesthe on-line status data from it subscriber database. If the subscriberis not currently on-line, the SCP 23 sends an authorize terminationresponse to the SSP 24, which terminates the call to the subscriber'stelephone line. However, if the subscriber is on-line, as shown in FIG.46, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to play a “please hold” announcementto the calling party at step 4607 to request the calling party to holdthe line (step 4608).

[0349] At step 4609, the SCP 23 sends an SIP invite to the SN/IP 57. TheSIP invite contains the called party number, the calling party number(if available and not presentation restricted), the calling party name(if available and not presentation restricted), the IP address, the portnumber, the client software version, an indicator as to whether or notthe subscriber has voice mail service and a session key. At step 4610,the SCP 23 sets a timer equal to a predetermined time, e.g., 25 seconds.In the event that the SN/IP 57 does not respond within the predeterminedtime (indicating a timeout condition) or responds with an error, the SCP23 instructs the SSP 24 to stop playing the “please hold” announcementto the caller. Then, the SSP 24 begins playing an announcement to thecaller or forwarding the call in accordance with the Intelligent CallForwarding instructions. When voice mail is available, the messageinforms the caller that the call is being forwarded to a voice mailservice. Lastly, the SCP 23 sends an authorize termination response tothe SSP 24. If the subscriber does not have voice mail service, an erroris reported and the SCP 23 sends an authorize termination response tothe SSP 23. As a result, the SSP 23 terminates the suspended telephonecall to the subscriber's telephone line and the call encounters anyother features programmed on the line.

[0350] If no timeout occurs, at step 4611, the SN/IP 57 sends a messagevia the Internet 44 to the subscriber, which appears on the subscriber'sdisplay at the web client 30, informing the subscriber of the incomingcall and presenting the subscriber with disposition options for thecall. The message displayed may be a pop-up dialog box.

[0351] At step 4612, the subscriber elects to accept the telephone call,and as a result, the client software 34 responds to the SN/IP 57 with anOK message encrypted with the session key. In response, the SN/IP 57initiates termination of the subscriber's Internet session. The SN/IP 57also passes the subscriber's selection to accept the incoming call tothe SCP 23 at step 4613. At step 4614, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24to stop playing the “please hold” announcement to the caller. At step4615, the “please hold” announcement is terminated by the SSP 24 and atstep 4616 the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23confirming that the message is no longer playing.

[0352] At step 4617, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to begin playing a“will take your call” announcement to the caller (step 4618). At step4619, the SSP 24 sends a resource clear message to the SCP 23. At theconclusion of the “will take your call” announcement, the SCP 23 sendsan authorize termination response to the SSP 24 which terminates thesuspended call to the subscriber's telephone line (steps 4620-4621).That is, the calling party 20 is connected to the subscriber telephone25.

[0353] In comparison to FIG. 40, which is the call flow when thesubscriber elects to accept an incoming call while on-line, according tothe embodiment of FIG. 35, FIG. 46 differs only through step 4610. Afterstep 4610, the embodiments are substantially the same. Therefore,substitution of steps 4601 through 4610 in the call flows of FIGS. 39-45produces a corresponding call flow diagram depicting the embodiment ofFIG. 23. These alternative call flows will therefore not be repeatedherein to avoid redundancy.

[0354] FIGS. 47-49 show an exemplary flowchart diagram of the SCPservice logic, according to an aspect of the present invention, wheneverIntelligent Call Forwarding has been activated. At step s4702 of FIG.47, a query, including the called party's telephone number and thecalling party's telephone number, is received by the SCP 23 from theterminating switch SSP 24. At step s4704, a table is used to derive thelocal access and transport area (LATA) based upon the NPA-NXX of thecalled party number. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 35, the LATA isused to determine the corresponding registration server 56 and ICWserver 61 to query for the GetData and InvokeApp requests. The systemselects from among multiple registration servers and ICW serversassigned to predetermined areas.

[0355] Subsequently, at step s4706 the SCP 23 launches a query to theappropriate server to obtain the subscriber's on-line status and sets atimer equal to a predetermined time, e.g., 2 seconds. If the query isunsuccessful, an error is reported and the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24to terminate the suspended call to the subscriber's line. If however,the query is successful, the subscriber's on-line status is determinedat step s4706.

[0356] In an alternative embodiment, which incorporates the SN/IP 57 asshown in FIG. 23, there is no need for the SCP 23 to send a query to aserver to determine the subscriber's on-line status. Instead, the SCP 23already has that data stored and available. Every time the subscriberinitiates an Internet session, a service node (e.g., the SN/IP 57) isnotified. The service node, in turn, systematically notifies the SCP 23that the subscriber is on-line and the SCP 23 stores the on-line statusinformation. Therefore, when the SCP 23 receives a TAT query from SSP 24regarding the subscriber's telephone number, the SCP 23 already has anon-line indication without having to query an external server. In otherwords, pursuant to the embodiment of FIG. 23, step s4704 is by-passedand step s4706 is executed using data already stored at the SCP 23.

[0357] If at step s4706, it is determined that the subscriber is noton-line, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 according to any servicesassociated with the called number. If the subscriber has IntelligentCall Forwarding, the SCP 23 proceeds to step s4740 of FIG. 49 toimplement call forwarding options, as discussed below.

[0358] If the subscriber is on-line, a determination is made toascertain whether the presentation restriction value is restricted orunavailable, at step s4710. If the presentation restriction indicatorfor the incoming call is “allowed,” the SCP 23 launches a query to the aname database to determine whether the received calling party number isa ported telephone number at step s4712. If the query is successful, thetelephone number returned in the response is either equal to the callingparty number sent in the query if the telephone number is not ported, orthe local routing number if the telephone number is ported. Thetelephone number returned in the response is checked against entries ina table to determine if the NPA-NXX belongs to a participating LEC, inwhich case a query is launched to the name database 50 to retrieve thecalling party's name at step s4712.

[0359] If either query is not successful, an error is reported, thecalling party name is set to null, and a determination is made as towhether the subscriber has voice mail service. Next, when the callingparty name and number have been retrieved from the name database 50 atstep s4714, a “please hold” announcement is played to the caller. If thesubscriber has voice mail service, the caller is advised that the calledparty is on another call and that the caller should wait, and that thewait may take fifteen seconds. If the subscriber does not have voicemail service, the caller is advised that the called party is on anothercall, and that if the caller's call is not taken, the caller may hear abusy signal or be transferred to another number.

[0360] If the calling party name is not in the name database 50, anerror is reported, the calling party name is set to null, and adetermination is made as to whether the subscriber has voice mailservice. Next, at step s4714 a “please hold” announcement is played tothe caller. An appropriate message is played, depending on whether thesubscriber has voice mail service.

[0361] If a call is received with a presentation restriction indicatorof restricted (i.e., anonymous) and the subscriber has the ACR featureactivated, an authorization response is sent to the SSP 24 and thesuspended call attempts to terminate at the subscriber's line. If no ACRfeature is active, or if the presentation restriction value isunavailable, the calling party name is set to null and the calling partynumber is set to anonymous or unavailable. Next, at step s4714 a “pleasehold” announcement is played to the caller. An appropriate message isplayed, depending on whether the subscriber has voice mail service.

[0362] At step s4716, the SCP 23 contacts the appropriate server (e.g.,via an InvokeApp request to the ICW server 61 of FIG. 35) or servicenode (e.g., via an SIP invite to the SN/IP 57 of FIG. 23) with a requestthat includes the called party number, calling party number (ifavailable and not presentation restricted), the calling party name (ifavailable and not presentation restricted), IP address, port number,client software version number, and an indicator as to whether thesubscriber has voice mail service. If there is no response within apredetermined time period, e.g., 25 seconds (indicating a timeoutcondition), an error is reported and an authorization response will besent to the SSP 24 and the suspended call will attempt to terminate atthe subscriber's line. If, however, there is a response within thepredetermined time period, a determination is made as to whether thecaller has abandoned the call at step s4718. If the call was abandoned,the connection is disconnected at step s4720. If the caller is still onthe line, the server or the service node formats an Internet message tothe client software 34 on the subscriber's PC 32, which causes a pop-upbox dialog box to be displayed on the subscriber's display, informingthe subscriber of the incoming call and presenting the subscriber withseveral call disposition options. Subsequently, the logic proceeds tostep s4222 of FIG. 48.

[0363] Referring to FIG. 48, which continues the flow of FIG. 47, acheck is made at step s4722 to determine whether the subscriber selecteda call disposition option and the please hold announcement isterminated. If no call disposition option is made within a predeterminedtime period, the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to begin playing a “call meback later” announcement at step s4730, after which the SSP 24 disposesof the call at step s4732, ending the logic flow at s4720.

[0364] If the subscriber selects a call disposition option (steps4722—YES), the SCP 23 first determines whether the subscriber hasexpressly rejected the call at step s4723. If the call is rejected (steps4723—YES), the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to begin playing a “call meback later” announcement at step s4730, after which the SSP 24 disposesof the call at step s4732, ending the logic flow at s4720. If the callis not rejected (step s4723—NO), the logic flow proceeds to step s4724.

[0365] If the subscriber elects to accept the incoming call (steps4724—YES), the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to begin playing a “willtake your call” announcement at step s4730, after which the SCP 23 sendsan authorize termination response to the SSP 24 which terminates thesuspended call to the subscriber's telephone line at step s4732.Otherwise, the logic flow proceeds to step s4726 (step s4724—NO).

[0366] If the subscriber elects to forward the incoming call to voicemail service (step s4726—YES), the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 to beginplaying an announcement to the caller that the call is being forwardedto a voice mail service at step s4730, after which the SCP 23 sends anauthorize termination response to the SSP 24 at step s4732. The call isthen connected to the subscriber's voice mail service. If the subscriberdoes not forward the call to voice mail (step s4726—NO), the logic flowproceeds to step s4728.

[0367] If the subscriber elects to forward the incoming call to anothertelephone line (step s4728—YES), the SCP 23 instructs the SSP 24 tobegin playing a “forwarding to another number” announcement at steps4730, after which the SCP 23 sends a Forward Call response to the SSP24 at step s4732. The call is then forwarded to the desired number. Ifthe subscriber elects not to send the incoming call to another telephoneline (step s4728—NO), the subscriber may select an announcement to beplayed to the caller at step s4730. The SCP 23 accordingly instructs theSSP 24 to begin playing the announcement selected by the subscriber atstep s4730. One optional announcement advises the caller that thesubscriber is busy and that the caller should call back later. Anotheroption advises the caller that the subscriber is busy and that thesubscriber will call the caller back later. After the selectedannouncement is played to the caller, the logic ends at step s4720.

[0368]FIG. 49 continues the flow from FIG. 47 whenever it is determinedthat an Intelligent Call Forwarding subscriber is not on-line. At steps4740, the SCP 23 determines whether call forwarding for all calls isactive. If so, the incoming call is routed to the forwarding number atstep s4742. If not, it is determined whether the scheduler is active atstep at s4744. If the scheduler is ON, and the tod/dow is found at steps4746, the SCP 23 processes calls according to the tod/dow table, ifpopulated, at step s4747. Processing the call according to the tod/dowtable may include terminating the call to the subscriber telephonenumber if the time of day and day of the week correspond to adeactivation period.

[0369] If at step s4744, it is determined that the scheduler is OFF, orif at step s4746, it is determined that the scheduler is ON but thetod/dow table is not populated, the SCP 23 determines whether thesubscriber has identified special routing instructions based on thecalling party number. First, the SCP 23 determines whether the priorityscreening list is ON at step s4748 and, if so, whether calling partynumber is on that list at step s4750. Whenever the calling party numberis on the priority screening list (step s4750—YES), the SCP 23 instructsthe SSP 24 to route the incoming call to a pre-designated prioritytelephone number at step s4752, ending the call, at s4720.

[0370] When the calling party number is not on the priority screeninglist (step s4750—NO), the SCP 23 goes on to determine whether therejection screening list is ON at step s4754. Whenever the rejectionscreening list is ON, the SCP 23 determines whether the calling partynumber is on that list at step s4756. Whenever the calling party numberis on the rejection screening list (step s4756—YES), the SCP 23instructs the SSP 24 to play an announcement at step s4758 rejecting thecaller. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the SCP 23instructs the SSP 24 to terminate the incoming call to a directorynumber, without an announcement, predesignated by the subscriber toreceive rejected telephone calls, such as an voice message center, wherethe call is terminated. Whenever the rejection screening list is OFF(step s4754—NO), or the rejection screening list is ON, but the callingparty number is not on the list (step s4756—NO), the SCP 23 instructsthe SSP 24 to route the call to the called number at step s4755, endingthe process at s4720.

[0371] Although the invention has been described with reference toseveral exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the words that havebeen used are words of description and illustration, rather than wordsof limitation. Changes may be made within the purview of the appendedclaims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention in its aspects. Although the inventionhas been described with reference to particular means, materials andembodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to theparticulars disclosed; rather, the invention extends to all functionallyequivalent structures, methods, and uses such as are within the scope ofthe appended claims.

[0372] In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention,the methods described herein are intended for operation as softwareprograms running on a computer processor. Dedicated hardwareimplementations including, but not limited to, application specificintegrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardwaredevices can likewise be constructed to implement the methods describedherein. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, butnot limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributedprocessing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can alsobe constructed to implement the methods described herein.

[0373] It should also be noted that the software implementations of thepresent invention as described herein are optionally stored on atangible storage medium, such as: a magnetic medium such as a disk ortape; a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk; or a solidstate medium such as a memory card or other package that houses one ormore read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or otherre-writable (volatile) memories. A digital file attachment to e-mail orother self-contained information archive or set of archives isconsidered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storagemedium. Accordingly, the invention is considered to include a tangiblestorage medium or distribution medium, as listed herein and includingart-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the softwareimplementations herein are stored.

[0374] Although the present specification describes components andfunctions implemented in the embodiments with reference to particularstandards and protocols, the invention is not limited to such standardsand protocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packetswitched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, HTML, HTTP, CORBA)represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same functions are considered equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for verbally editing at least oneparameter of an advanced intelligent network (AIN) service of asubscriber using speech recognition functionality residing on anintelligent peripheral, the at least one parameter being stored inassociation with an account of the subscriber, the method comprising:receiving a call from the subscriber at a switch, the call comprising atleast a dialed number associated with editing the AIN service, andestablishing a connection with the intelligent peripheral in response tothe dialed number, the intelligent peripheral comprising an interactivevoice response platform; retrieving call service data of the subscriberaccount from a database, the call service data comprising the at leastone parameter; playing a voice announcement to the subscriber, the voiceannouncement identifying the at least one parameter; receiving at theintelligent peripheral a voice instruction from the subscriber inresponse to the voice announcement; translating the voice instructioninto digital command data relating to a change to the at least oneparameter; storing the digital command data and the change to the atleast one parameter; and implementing in near real-time the change tothe at least one parameter.
 2. The method for verbally editing at leastone parameter of the AIN service according to claim 1, in whichestablishing the connection with the intelligent peripheral in responseto the dialed number comprises suspending the call at the switch andestablishing a temporary connection between the switch and theintelligent peripheral using a first interface protocol.
 3. The methodfor verbally editing at least one parameter of the AIN service accordingto claim 2, in which retrieving the call service data of the subscriberaccount from the database comprises establishing a connection betweenthe intelligent peripheral and a service control point using a secondinterface protocol and retrieving the call service data from a servicecontrol point database.
 4. The method for verbally editing at least oneparameter of the AIN service according to claim 3, in which implementingthe change to the at least one parameter comprises transmitting thechange from the intelligent peripheral to the service control point viathe second interface protocol connection, storing the change in theservice control point database, and implementing the change in responseto a trigger activating the AIN service.
 5. The method for verballyediting at least one parameter of the AIN service according to claim 4,in which the first interface protocol comprises a GR-1129 interfaceprotocol and the second interface comprises an SR-3511 interfaceprotocol.
 6. The method for verbally editing at least one parameter ofthe AIN service according to claim 1, in which establishing theconnection with the intelligent peripheral in response to the dialednumber comprises routing the call from the switch to the intelligentperipheral.
 7. The method for verbally editing at least one parameter ofthe AIN service according to claim 1, in which the dialed numbercomprises one of a toll free number and a star code.
 8. The method forverbally editing at least one parameter of the AIN service according toclaim 1, further comprising: establishing a connection between agraphical user interface of the subscriber and the intelligentperipheral through a web server in a packet switched data network;establishing a connection between the intelligent peripheral and thedatabase; and retrieving the call service data of the subscriber accountfrom the database, the call service data comprising that change to theat least one parameter, and displaying the call service data at thegraphical user interface.
 9. A method for accessing an account of asubscriber in a database relating to an advanced intelligent network(AIN) service in a public switched telephone network, the methodcomprising: receiving calling data at a switch, the calling data beingassociated with a call initiated by the subscriber, the calling datacomprising at least one dialed number associated with accessing the AINservice; querying a service control point based on at least the dialednumber; establishing a connection with a service node/intelligentperipheral based on an instruction received from the service controlpoint in response to the query, enabling a speech recognition functionof the service node/intelligent peripheral; playing a first voiceannouncement at the service node/intelligent peripheral requestingidentification information relating to the subscriber account; receivinga first voice response from the subscriber providing the requestedidentification information; translating the first voice response intodigital identification data and verifying the subscriber based on thedigital identification data; establishing a connection between theservice node/intelligent peripheral and the AIN service database andretrieving call service data from the subscriber account; playing asecond voice announcement at the intelligent peripheral based on theretrieved call service data; receiving a second voice response from thesubscriber relating to a modification to the call service data;translating the second voice response into digital instruction data andupdating the call service data based on the modification and sending theupdated call service data to the AIN service database in near real-time;and storing the updated call service data for immediate implementationin the AIN service database.
 10. The method for accessing a subscriberaccount according to claim 9, in which verifying the digitalidentification data comprises comparing the digital identification datato previously stored voice data of the subscriber.
 11. The method foraccessing a subscriber account according to claim 9, whereinestablishing the connection with the service node/intelligent peripheralcomprises suspending the call at the switch and forming a temporaryconnection between the switch and the service node/intelligentperipheral using a GR-1129 interface protocol; and wherein establishingthe connection between the service node/intelligent peripheral and theAIN service database comprises forming a connection between the servicenode/intelligent peripheral and the service control point using anSR-3511 interface protocol.
 12. A method for executing an advancedintelligent network (AIN) service using speech recognition functionalityresiding on an intelligent peripheral, the method comprising: storing atleast one parameter in a database in association with an AIN serviceaccount of a subscriber, the at least one parameter relating to arestriction on calls involving a telephone number of the subscriber;receving at a switch a call from a calling terminal involving thesubscriber telephone number and querying a service control point basedon at least the subscriber telephone number; establishing a connectionwith the intelligent peripheral based on a response to the query, theintelligent peripheral comprising an interactive voice responseplatform; retrieving call service data of the subscriber from thedatabase, the call service data comprising the at least one parameter;playing a voice announcement to the calling terminal, the voiceannouncement identifying the at least one parameter and requesting oneof an instruction and a verification relating to the call service data;receiving at the intelligent peripheral a voice input from the callingterminal in response to the voice announcement, providing the one of theinstruction and the verification, and translating the voice input intodigital command data; receiving at the switch an instruction from theintelligent peripheral for processing the call based on the digitalcommand data; and processing the call according to the instruction. 13.The method for executing the AIN service using speech recognitionfunctionality according to claim 12, in which establishing theconnection with the intelligent peripheral comprises suspending the callat the switch and establishing a temporary connection between the switchand the intelligent peripheral using a first interface protocol.
 14. Themethod for executing the AIN service using speech recognitionfunctionality according to claim 13, in which retrieving the callservice data of the subscriber account from the database comprisesestablishing a connection between the intelligent peripheral and theservice control point using a second interface protocol, the servicecontrol point comprising the database.
 15. The method for executing theAIN service using speech recognition functionality according to claim14, in which the first interface protocol comprises a GR-1129 interfaceprotocol and the second interface comprises an SR-3511 interfaceprotocol.
 16. A system for verbally editing at least one parameter of anadvanced intelligent network (AIN) service of a subscriber in a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) using speech commands, the at leastone parameter being stored in association with an account of thesubscriber, the system comprising: an intelligent peripheral, includingspeech recognition functionality, that is accessible by the subscriberthrough the PSTN and a packet switched data network; a switch thatreceives a call from the subscriber and establishes a connection withthe intelligent peripheral based on at least a dialed number of thecall; and an AIN service database that stores call service data inrelation to the subscriber account, the call service data comprising theat least one parameter; wherein the intelligent peripheral retrieves theat least one parameter from the AIN service database, plays a voiceannouncement to the subscriber relating to the at least one parameter,receives a voice instruction from the subscriber in response to thevoice announcement relating to a change to the at least one parameter,translates the voice instruction into digital command data, and editsthe at least one parameter in accordance with the digital command data;and wherein in the AIN service database stores at least the editedparameter in association with the subscriber account in near real-timefor immediate implementation in the PSTN.
 17. The system for verballyediting at least one parameter of the AIN service according to claim 16,in which the switch establishes the connection with the intelligentperipheral by suspending the call and establishing a temporaryconnection between the switch and the service intelligent peripheralusing a first interface protocol.
 18. The system for verbally editing atleast one parameter of the AIN service according to claim 17, furthercomprising a service control point, comprising the AIN service database,wherein the intelligent peripheral retrieves the at least one parameterfrom the AIN service database by connecting to the service control pointusing a second interface protocol and retrieving the at least onparameter from a service control point database.
 19. The system forverbally editing at least one parameter of the AIN service according toclaim 18, wherein the service control point receives the editedparameter from the intelligent peripheral via the second interfaceprotocol connection, stores the edited parameter in the AIN servicedatabase, and implements the edited parameter in response to a triggeractivating the AIN service.
 20. The system for verbally editing at leastone parameter of the AIN service according to claim 16, in which theswitch establishes the connection with the intelligent peripheral byrouting the call to the intelligent peripheral, in response to thedialed number, based on one of an internal routing translation and aninstruction from a service control point.
 21. A system for accessing anaccount of a subscriber, relating to an advanced intelligent network(AIN) service in a public switched telephone network, the systemcomprising: a switch that receives calling data relating to a call fromthe subscriber at a terminal, the calling data comprising at least onedialed number associated with the AIN service; a service control pointthat receives a query from the switch based on at least the dialednumber; an AIN service database that stores AIN service data in relationto the subscriber account, the AIN service data comprisingidentification data and call service data; and a servicenode/intelligent peripheral that is connected to the subscriber terminalby the switch based on an instruction from the service control point inresponse to the query, enabling speech recognition functionality, theservice node/intelligent peripheral receiving the AIN service data fromthe AIN service database; wherein the service node/intelligentperipheral receives a first voice input from the subscriber terminal, inresponse to a first voice prompt, providing identification information,translates the first voice input into digital identification data, andverifies the subscriber based comparing the digital identification datawith the stored identification data; wherein the servicenode/intelligent peripheral receives a second voice input from thesubscriber terminal, in response to a second voice prompt, relating to amodification to the AIN service data, translates the second voiceresponse into digital instruction data, updates the AIN service databased on the digital instruction data, and sends the updated AIN servicedata to the AIN service database, which stores the updated AIN servicedata for implementation by the service control point.
 22. The system foraccessing a subscriber account according to claim 21, furthercomprising: a web server in a packet switched data network connectableto a graphical user interface of the subscriber and the servicenode/intelligent peripheral; wherein the service node/intelligentperipheral receives the digital identification data relating to thesubscriber account from the subscriber through the graphical userinterface, retrieves the updated AIN service data from the subscriberaccount in the AIN service database, and displays the retrieved data onthe graphical user interface.
 23. A system for executing an advancedintelligent network (AIN) service of a subscriber in a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) using speech recognition, the systemcomprising: a service control point, comprising an AIN service databasethat stores call service data in relation to an account of thesubscriber, the call service data comprising at least one parameterrelating to a restriction on calls involving a telephone number of thesubscriber; a switch that receives a call from a calling terminalinvolving the subscriber telephone number and queries the servicecontrol point based on at least the subscriber telephone number, theservice control point identifying the AIN service and the subscriberaccount based on the subscriber telephone number; and an intelligentperipheral, including speech recognition functionality, that retrievesthe call service data from the AIN service database, the switchestablishing a connection with the intelligent peripheral based on aninstruction from the service control point in response to the query;wherein the intelligent peripheral plays a voice announcement to thecalling terminal via the connection with the switch, the voiceannouncement identifying the at least one parameter and requesting oneof an instruction and a verification relating to the call service data,and receives a voice input from the calling terminal in response to thevoice announcement, providing the one of the instruction and theverification; and wherein the intelligent peripheral translates thevoice input into digital command data and instructs the switch toprocess the call based on the digital command data.
 24. A computerreadable medium for storing a computer program that enables editing atleast one parameter of an advanced intelligent network (AIN) service ofa subscriber, using speech recognition functionality residing on anintelligent peripheral, the at least one parameter being stored inassociation with an account of the subscriber, the computer readablemedium comprising: a receiving source code segment that receives a callfrom the subscriber at a switch, the call comprising at least a dialednumber for editing the AIN service; a connecting source code segmentthat establishes a connection with the intelligent peripheral inresponse to the dialed number, the intelligent peripheral comprising aninteractive voice response platform and being accessible by thesubscriber through a web server in a packet switched data network; aretrieving source code segment that retrieves call service data relatingto the subscriber account from a database, the call service datacomprising the at least one parameter; a speech recognizing source codesegment that plays a voice announcement to the subscriber identifyingthe at least one parameter, receives at the intelligent peripheral avoice instruction from the subscriber in response to the voiceannouncement and translates the voice instruction into digital commanddata relating to a change to the at least one parameter; a storingsource code segment that receives and stores the digital command datarelating to the change to the at least one parameter in the database;and an implementing source code segment that implements the change tothe at least one parameter in near real-time.
 25. The computer readablemedium for storing a computer program that enables editing at least oneparameter of the AIN service according to claim 24, in which theconnecting source code segment establishes the connection with theintelligent peripheral by suspending the call at the switch andestablishing a temporary connection between the switch and theintelligent peripheral using a GR-1129 interface protocol.
 26. Thecomputer readable medium for storing a computer program that enablesediting at least one parameter of the AIN service according to claim 25,in which the retrieving source code segment retrieves the call servicedata of the subscriber account from the database by establishing aconnection between the intelligent peripheral and a service controlpoint in a public switched telephone network using an SR-3511 interfaceprotocol.
 27. The computer readable medium for storing a computerprogram that enables editing at least one parameter of the AIN serviceaccording to claim 24, in which the connecting source code segmentestablishes the connection with the intelligent peripheral in responseto the dialed number by routing the call from the switch to theintelligent peripheral.
 28. A computer readable medium for storing acomputer program that accesses an account of a subscriber for anadvanced intelligent network (AIN) service in a public switchedtelephone network, the computer readable medium comprising: a receivingsource code segment that receives calling data at a switch, the callingdata being associated with a call initiated by the subscriber andrelating to the AIN service, the calling data comprising at least onedialed number associated with the AIN service; a querying source codesegment that queries a service control point based on at least thedialed number; a connecting source code segment that establishes aconnection with a service node/intelligent peripheral based on aninstruction received from the service control point in response to thequery; a first speech recognizing source code segment that receives afirst voice input at the service node/intelligent peripheral from thesubscriber terminal in response to a first automated voice prompt, thefirst voice input providing identification information; translates thefirst voice input into digital identification data; and verifies thesubscriber based on comparing the digital identification data withpreviously stored identification data; a second speech recognizingsource code segment that receives a second voice input at the servicenode/intelligent peripheral from the subscriber terminal in response toa second automated voice prompt, the second voice input relating to amodification of previously stored AIN service data; translates thesecond voice response into digital instruction data; and updates the AINservice data based on the digital instruction data; and a memory thatstores the updated AIN service data for implementation by the servicecontrol point.
 29. A computer readable medium for storing a computerprogram that executes an advanced intelligent network (AIN) service of asubscriber using speech recognition functionality residing on anintelligent peripheral, the computer readable medium comprising: astoring source code segment that stores at least one parameter in adatabase in association with an AIN service account of the subscriber,the at least one parameter relating to a restriction on calls involvinga telephone number of the subscriber; a receving source code segmentthat receives at a switch a call from a calling terminal involving thesubscriber telephone number and queries a service control point based onat least the subscriber telephone number; a connecting source codesegment that establishes a connection with the intelligent peripheralbased on a response to the query, the intelligent peripheral comprisingan interactive voice response platform; a data retrieving source codesegment that retrieves call service data of the subscriber from thedatabase, the call service data comprising the at least one parameter; aspeech recognizing source code segment that plays a voice announcementto the calling terminal, the voice announcement identifying the at leastone parameter and requesting one of an instruction and a verificationrelating to the call service data; receives a voice input from thecalling terminal in response to the voice announcement, providing theone of the instruction and the verification; and translates the voiceinput into digital command data; processing source code segment thatreceives at the switch an instruction from the intelligent peripheralfor processing the call based on the digital command data and processesthe call according to the instruction.